By LAURA E. DAVIS, Yahoo! News
With its decision Monday in the case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Supreme Court forever changed the terms of debate over the right to bear arms. The 5-4 vote extends principles the court laid out in 2008, when it struck down a handgun ban in Washington, D.C. In finding that the Second Amendment extends to state and local laws, the court has unequivocally affirmed an individual right to own handguns for self-defense, and has restricted every city and state in the kinds of gun-control laws they may enact.
Of course, there will still be limits on the right to keep and bear arms — and plenty of litigation to redefine them after this landmark decision. But if you're wondering about the decision's immediate legal effects, here are some plainspoken answers.
What are the specific terms of the ruling?
The court essentially said state and local laws banning handguns (which preclude citizens from owning handguns for self-defense in the home) are too strict. The decision flows directly from the court's ruling in the 2008 case, District of Columbia v. Heller, which struck down Washington, D.C.'s blanket ban on handguns. While that case already addressed the meaning of the Second Amendment by affirming the right of citizens to own handguns, it applied only on a federal level. (D.C. is under federal jurisdiction.) This case — by way of the due process clause of the 14th Amendment — extends the same interpretation of the Second Amendment to state and local levels. Taken together, these rulings say that the Constitution bars various levels of government from banning handgun ownership.
Will this ruling affect gun laws where I live?
For now, this Supreme Court ruling is only likely to affect gun laws in Chicago and Oak Park, Ill. — there is no immediate effect on any other laws. So if you live in another city that restricts gun possession in some way, that law remains in effect for the moment. Both the National Rifle Association and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence say no other communities currently ban handgun possession in the home, so no other laws are clearly rendered unconstitutional. However, this Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment can be used to challenge other gun laws in cities and states. So this case may result in incremental change across the country as gun laws are challenged one by one.
If I live in a city where handgun ownership is restricted, can I buy a handgun now?
No, you will still be subject to the restrictions that were already in place. So if you had to get a license to buy a handgun, you will still need to go through that process. Even in Chicago and Oak Park, the cities where the handgun bans were challenged, the restrictions remain in place for now. The high court interpreted the Constitution but left the actual decision regarding the cities' laws to a lower court. It's likely under the Supreme Court's ruling that the lower court will find the laws unconstitutional, and at that time the cities will probably be able to rewrite their laws to comply with the ruling while still enacting some gun restrictions.
Does this mean I can purchase any kind of gun I want?
No. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that ownership of many kinds of guns, such as assault weapons, can be banned.
Does this mean felons can purchase guns?
No. Just as the Supreme Court has allowed restrictions on the kinds of guns people can own, it has permitted some restrictions on who can own them. The Brady Center notes that the federal Gun Control Act of 1968 explicitly bars felons from buying guns.
How does the ruling affect carrying weapons in public?
It doesn't. This ruling affects only handgun ownership, not where you can take that gun. So laws that prohibit guns in public still stand.
Could other pending cases further expand what's allowed under the Second Amendment?
None are before the Supreme Court right now, but UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh told Yahoo! News that the McDonald case "will doubtless trigger a new round of litigation" — for example, challenges to local restrictions on gun possession by people younger than 21 or by noncitizens. And D.C. isn’t out of the legal woods: A plaintiff from the Heller case is trying to gain the right to carry weapons in public, while other gun-rights advocates are challenging the new D.C. law that was written to comply with Heller.
— Laura E. Davis is an editor for Yahoo! News.
