Required caseSecond Amendment & Incorporation

McDonald v. Chicago

2010·Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

The Second Amendment right to bear arms for self-defense is incorporated against state and local governments.

Practice the comparison FRQRead the brief
Decided
2010
Clause at issue
Second Amendment
Course unit
Unit 3
Case number
13 of 14

Case brief

The three pieces every AP answer about this case should get right.

  1. 1

    The facts

    Chicago residents challenged a city handgun ban after the Court recognized an individual Second Amendment right in Heller.

  2. 2

    The constitutional question

    Does the Second Amendment apply to state and local gun regulations through the Fourteenth Amendment?

  3. 3

    The holding

    The Court struck down the handgun ban as applied to the states.

Why it matters

  • The right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is fundamental.
  • Selective incorporation extended the Second Amendment to the states via the Due Process Clause.
  • States and cities may not impose total handgun bans on law-abiding citizens for home self-defense.

Check yourself

Three questions on McDonald v. Chicago: the holding, a common mix-up, and how it differs from another required case.

Question 1 of 3

In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the Supreme Court ruled that a city ban on handguns violated the Second Amendment. This decision applied the Second Amendment to state and local governments through

SCOTUS comparison FRQ

Can you connect McDonald v. Chicago to a case you’ve never seen?

The exam hands you an unfamiliar case and asks how it relates to a required one. Practice that here: name the shared principle, state the holding, and explain the connection.

Start the comparison

You’ll compare it with

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

Three parts

  1. A. Identify the shared principle
  2. B. Describe the required case
  3. C. Explain the connection

Frequently asked questions

What did Chicago ban, and why could residents challenge it?

Handgun possession, including in the home. After the Court recognized an individual right against the federal government, Chicago residents argued that a city could not impose a flat ban either.

How does a federal right bind a city?

Selective incorporation. The Court held that keeping a handgun for self-defense is fundamental, so the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause carries the Second Amendment to states and cities.

Does McDonald erase gun regulations?

No. The holding rejects a total ban on handguns kept at home for self-defense by law-abiding people. It does not decide every licensing rule or every limit outside the home.

Which other required case is also an incorporation case?

Gideon v. Wainwright, for the right to a lawyer in a serious criminal case. McDonald is the incorporation case for the Second Amendment. Match the right in the stimulus before you choose between them.

The other required cases