Which case addressed the incorporation of the Second Amendment to apply to the states?

Which case addressed the incorporation of the Second Amendment to apply to the states?

• A. McDonald v. Chicago
• B. Heller v. District Of Columbia
• C. Barron v. Baltimore
• D. Marbury v. Madison

Answer: (A)

Incorporation via the Fourteenth Amendment is the key idea. McDonald v. Chicago held that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is binding on state and local governments through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This extends the gun-right protections recognized in Heller to the states, not just the federal government. Heller addresses the individual right to possess firearms and the scope of that right in relation to federal (DC) restrictions, but it does not itself apply to state governments. Barron v. Baltimore, by contrast, said the Bill of Rights did not restrict the states, which is the opposite position that incorporation later built on. Marbury v. Madison is about judicial review, not gun rights or incorporation. So the case that directly addresses applying the Second Amendment to the states is McDonald v. Chicago.

Incorporation via the Fourteenth Amendment is the key idea. McDonald v. Chicago held that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is binding on state and local governments through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This extends the gun-right protections recognized in Heller to the states, not just the federal government.

Heller addresses the individual right to possess firearms and the scope of that right in relation to federal (DC) restrictions, but it does not itself apply to state governments. Barron v. Baltimore, by contrast, said the Bill of Rights did not restrict the states, which is the opposite position that incorporation later built on. Marbury v. Madison is about judicial review, not gun rights or incorporation. So the case that directly addresses applying the Second Amendment to the states is McDonald v. Chicago.