McDonald v. City of Chicago

McDonald v. City of Chicago
Name	McDonald v. City of Chicago
Court	Supreme Court of the United States
Date	June 28, 2010
Full name	Otis McDonald, et al., Petitioners v. City of Chicago, Illinois, et al.
Citation	561 U.S. 742
Prior	On writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Holding	The court held that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is incorporated against state and local governments to prohibit them from making laws that infringe on an individual's right to bear arms, as established by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and District of Columbia v. Heller.
Us court	Supreme Court of the United States

Contents

McDonald v. City of Chicago is a landmark United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of gun rights and the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The case was brought by Otis McDonald, a resident of Chicago, Illinois, who challenged the city's handgun ban as a violation of his Second Amendment rights, as interpreted by District of Columbia v. Heller and United States v. Miller. The case was heard by the Supreme Court of the United States and involved National Rifle Association and Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence as amici curiae. The court's decision was influenced by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Slaughter-House Cases.

Background

The McDonald v. City of Chicago case has its roots in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, specifically the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees the right to bear arms. The case was also influenced by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was ratified in 1868 and aimed to establish citizenship and equal protection under the law for former slaves and African Americans, as seen in Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education. The National Rifle Association and other gun rights organizations, such as the Gun Owners of America and Second Amendment Foundation, played a significant role in the case, as did gun control groups like the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. The case was also supported by American Civil Liberties Union and Institute for Justice, which argued that the Second Amendment is a fundamental right that should be protected from infringement by state and local governments, as established by United States v. Cruikshank and Presser v. Illinois.

The case began in 2008 when Otis McDonald, a resident of Chicago, Illinois, filed a lawsuit against the City of Chicago challenging the city's handgun ban, which was enacted in 1982 and prohibited the possession of handguns within the city limits, as seen in United States v. Lopez and Printz v. United States. McDonald argued that the ban violated his Second Amendment rights, as established by District of Columbia v. Heller and United States v. Miller. The case was initially heard by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, which ruled in favor of the city, citing the Slaughter-House Cases and United States v. Cruikshank. The decision was then appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which also ruled in favor of the city, as seen in DeShaney v. Winnebago County and Castle Rock v. Gonzales. The case was then appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, which agreed to hear the case in 2009, with Solicitor General Elena Kagan and Attorney General Eric Holder filing briefs in support of the city, as well as Senator Orrin Hatch and Representative John Boehner filing briefs in support of McDonald.

The Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in the case on March 2, 2010, with Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas asking questions about the Second Amendment and its application to state and local governments, as seen in District of Columbia v. Heller and United States v. Miller. The court issued its decision on June 28, 2010, with Justice Samuel Alito writing the majority opinion, which held that the Second Amendment is incorporated against state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as established by Slaughter-House Cases and United States v. Cruikshank. The decision was supported by Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice John Roberts, as well as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Stephen Breyer in part, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Elena Kagan dissenting in part, citing United States v. Lopez and Printz v. United States. The decision was influenced by the National Rifle Association and other gun rights organizations, as well as gun control groups like the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

The decision in McDonald v. City of Chicago had a significant impact on gun laws in the United States, as it established that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments, as seen in District of Columbia v. Heller and United States v. Miller. The decision led to the overturning of handgun bans in several cities, including Chicago, Illinois, and Oak Park, Illinois, as well as the San Francisco, California gun ban, as seen in Friedman v. City of Highland Park and Peruta v. San Diego. The decision also led to an increase in gun ownership and concealed carry permits in several states, including Illinois, California, and New York, as seen in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York and Caetano v. Massachusetts. The case was also cited in Heller v. District of Columbia and Woollard v. Gallagher, and has been the subject of ongoing debate and litigation, with National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America continuing to advocate for gun rights, while Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Coalition to Stop Gun Violence continue to advocate for gun control, as seen in United States v. Lopez and Printz v. United States.

The decision in McDonald v. City of Chicago has significant legal implications, as it establishes that the Second Amendment is a fundamental right that applies to state and local governments, as seen in District of Columbia v. Heller and United States v. Miller. The decision is also significant because it applies the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution to the Second Amendment, as established by Slaughter-House Cases and United States v. Cruikshank. The case has been cited in several other gun rights cases, including Heller v. District of Columbia and Woollard v. Gallagher, and has been the subject of ongoing debate and litigation, with National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America continuing to advocate for gun rights, while Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Coalition to Stop Gun Violence continue to advocate for gun control, as seen in United States v. Lopez and Printz v. United States. The case has also been influential in shaping the gun laws of several states, including Illinois, California, and New York, as seen in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York and Caetano v. Massachusetts, and has been cited by Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito in several other cases, including Timbs v. Indiana and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York.