<P> District of Columbia v. Heller , 554 U.S. 570 ( 2008 ) , is a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held , in a 5 -- 4 decision , that the Second Amendment protects an individual 's right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia for traditionally lawful purposes , such as self - defense within the home , and that Washington , D.C. 's handgun ban and requirement that lawfully - owned rifles and shotguns be kept `` unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock '' violated this guarantee . Due to Washington , D.C. 's special status as a federal district , the decision did not address the question of whether the Second Amendment 's protections are incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment against the states , which was addressed two years later by McDonald v. City of Chicago ( 2010 ) in which it was found that they are . It was the first Supreme Court case to decide whether the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms for self - defense . </P>
<P> District of Columbia v. Heller , 554 U.S. 570 ( 2008 ) , is a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held , in a 5 -- 4 decision , that the Second Amendment protects an individual 's right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia for traditionally lawful purposes , such as self - defense within the home , and that Washington , D.C. 's handgun ban and requirement that lawfully - owned rifles and shotguns be kept `` unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock '' violated this guarantee . Due to Washington , D.C. 's special status as a federal district , the decision did not address the question of whether the Second Amendment 's protections are incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment against the states , which was addressed two years later by McDonald v. City of Chicago ( 2010 ) in which it was found that they are . It was the first Supreme Court case to decide whether the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms for self - defense . </P>
right to keep and bear arms supreme court cases
right to keep and bear arms supreme court cases
District of Columbia v. Heller , 554 U.S. 570 ( 2008 )
District of Columbia v. Heller , 554 U.S. 570 ( 2008 )