	Introduction

In June 2008, the Supreme Court issued its decision in District of Columbia v. Heller , holding by a 5-4 vote that the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects an individual right to possess a firearm, unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that firearm for traditionally lawful purposes such as self-defense within the home. The decision in Heller marked the first time in almost 70 years that the Supreme Court addressed the nature of the right conferred by the Second Amendment. Although the Court conducted an extensive analysis of the Second Amendment to interpret its meaning, the decision left unanswered other significant constitutional questions, including the standard of scrutiny that should be applied to laws regulating the possession and use of firearms, and whether the Second Amendment applies to the states. Accordingly, this report first provides a historical overview of judicial treatment of the Second Amendment and a discussion of the Court's decision in Heller . It then examines the issue of incorporation, which was the focus of the McDonald decision. Lastly, this report concludes with an analysis that focuses on the potential impact of the Court's decisions in Heller and McDonald on such legislation pertaining to the use and possession of firearms at the federal, state, and local levels. Parker v. District of Columbia

In Parker , six residents of the District of Columbia challenged three provisions of the District's 1975 Firearms Control Regulation Act: DC Code § [phone number scrubbed].02(a)(4), which generally barred the registration of handguns, thus effectively prohibiting of possession of handguns in the District; § 22-4504(a), which prohibited carrying a pistol without a license (to the extent the provision would prevent a registrant from moving a gun from one room to another within his or her home); and § [phone number scrubbed].02, which required all lawfully owned firearms be kept unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock or similar device. The Court then declared that the inherent right of self-defense is central to the Second Amendment right, and that the District's handgun ban amounted to a prohibition of an entire class of arms that has been overwhelmingly utilized by American society for that purpose. Has the Supreme Court Addressed Incorporation of the Second Amendment via the Due Process Clause? Post-Heller Appellate Decisions and Incorporation of the Second Amendment

After the Heller decision, three courts of appeals addressed whether the Second Amendment applies to the states, that is, via direct application or via incorporation through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Seventh Circuit both held that the Second Amendment does not apply to the states, whereas the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Nordyke v. King held that the Second Amendment is applicable to the states, though it later vacated its decision in light of McDonald . Similarly, in National Rifle Association v. City of Chicago , the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Seventh Circuit) held that the Second Amendment does not apply to the states.
In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in a 5-4 decision that the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects an individual right to possess a firearm, unconnected with service in a militia, and the use of that firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. The decision in Heller affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which declared three provisions of the District of Columbia's Firearms Control Regulation Act unconstitutional. The provisions specifically ruled on were: DC Code § [phone number scrubbed].02, which generally barred the registration of handguns; DC Code § 22-4504, which prohibited carrying a pistol without a license, insofar as the provision would prevent a registrant from moving a gun from one room to another within his or her home; and DC Code § [phone number scrubbed].02, which required that all lawfully owned firearms be kept unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock or similar device. In noting that the District's approach "totally bans handgun possession in the home," the Supreme Court declared that the inherent right of self-defense is central to the Second Amendment right, and that the District's handgun ban amounted to a prohibition of an entire class of arms that has been overwhelmingly utilized by American society for that purpose.
The Court in Heller conducted an extensive analysis of the Second Amendment to interpret its meaning, but the decision left unanswered other significant constitutional questions, including the standard of scrutiny that should be applied to laws regulating the possession and use of firearms, and whether the Second Amendment is incorporated, or applies to, the states.
After Heller, three federal Courts of Appeals addressed the question of incorporation. Two of these decisions, from the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Seventh Circuit, held that the Second Amendment did not apply to the states, whereas the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the Second Amendment is incorporated under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, although this decision has since been vacated. In McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and held that the Second Amendment applies to the states.
With respect to the Heller decision, this report provides an overview of judicial treatment of the Second Amendment over the past 70 years in both the Supreme Court and federal appellate courts. With respect to the McDonald decision, this report presents an overview of the principles of incorporation, early cases that addressed the application of the Second Amendment to state governments, and the federal appellate cases that addressed incorporation of the Second Amendment since the Heller decision. Lastly, this report provides an analysis of the Court's opinions in Heller and McDonald and the potential implications of these decisions for firearms legislation at the federal, state, and local levels.