McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010)

Unit 3

McDonald v. City of Chicago

561 U.S. 742 · June 28, 2010 · Justice Samuel Alito

📋

BACKGROUND

Otis McDonald was a 76-year-old retired maintenance worker living in a high-crime neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. He wanted to keep a handgun at home for self-defense but couldn't — Chicago had a near-total ban on handgun possession enacted in 1982. McDonald challenged the ban following the Supreme Court's 2008 ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller, which had held the 2nd Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. But Heller only applied to federal enclaves like Washington D.C. McDonald asked: does the 2nd Amendment apply to state and local governments too?

The answer required the Court to decide whether to incorporate the 2nd Amendment through the 14th — the same selective incorporation process used for the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments over the previous century.

❓

CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION

Does the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms, recognized in Heller as an individual right, apply to state and local governments through the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause?

⚖️

THE RULING

✓ 2nd Amendment applies to states — 5 to 4

Majority: Alito · Roberts · Scalia · Kennedy · Thomas | Dissent: Stevens · Ginsburg · Breyer · Sotomayor

"It is clear that the Framers and ratifiers of the Fourteenth Amendment counted the right to keep and bear arms among those fundamental rights necessary to our system of ordered liberty."

The Court held that the Second Amendment right recognized in District of Columbia v. Heller applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. Chicago's handgun ban was struck down. McDonald is an example of selective incorporation: applying a protection in the Bill of Rights to state and local governments.

📐

PRINCIPLE ESTABLISHED

2nd Amendment Applies to All Levels of Government — Selective Incorporation Complete

The individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense (established in Heller 2008) applies to state and local governments through the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause. State and local governments may regulate firearms but may not ban them entirely for law-abiding citizens in their homes. McDonald is significant beyond its 2nd Amendment holding — it demonstrates that selective incorporation is a continuing process. Rights that seem well-established as federal-only protections can still be incorporated against states decades later.

🔗

LEGACY & CONNECTIONS

Heller (2008)
PrecursorMcDonald could not have been decided without Heller. Heller established there IS an individual 2nd Amendment right; McDonald established it applies to states. Know both cases and how they work together.
Selective Incorporation
ProcessMcDonald sits alongside Gideon (6th Amendment), Mapp v. Ohio (4th Amendment), and Engel (1st Amendment) as examples of the selective incorporation process. The 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause has been the vehicle for applying nearly all of the Bill of Rights to state governments.
Bruen (2022)
AftermathNew York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) strengthened McDonald further — striking down New York's concealed carry licensing law and establishing a new "historical tradition" test for evaluating gun regulations. McDonald opened the door; Bruen widened it considerably.
Gun Regulation
After McDonaldMcDonald doesn't prevent all gun regulation — it prevents banning guns for law-abiding citizens in their homes. States and localities may regulate storage, carrying, sales, and specific weapon types. The exact contours of what regulations are permissible are still being litigated in lower courts.

EXAM FOCUS

McDonald is tested as the most recent selective incorporation case AND as the case that applied the 2nd Amendment to states. Two things to always say about McDonald: (1) it incorporated the 2nd Amendment through the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause, and (2) it built directly on Heller (2008). FRQ scenarios about state gun laws → McDonald. Questions about selective incorporation → McDonald is the modern example.

Quick Facts

Vote5 to 4

Provision2nd Amendment via 14th Amendment

Common Mistakes

✗Confusing McDonald with Heller — Heller applied the 2nd Amendment to federal law; McDonald applied it to states.

✗Thinking McDonald makes all gun regulations unconstitutional — it only prohibits complete bans for law-abiding citizens.

✗Forgetting this is a selective incorporation case — always mention the 14th Amendment Due Process Clause.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)6th Amendment incorporation Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)1st Amendment incorporation All Unit 3 CasesReturn to cases list