Title: Laying Privileges or Immunities to Rest: McDonald v. City of Chicago
Abstract:In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court held the Second Amendment prohibits the federal government from banning handguns. Following Heller, application of the Second Amendment to state go...In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court held the Second Amendment prohibits the federal government from banning handguns. Following Heller, application of the Second Amendment to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment seemed likely. Although the Amendment’s Framers largely believed it would require states to uphold the individual liberties outlined in the Bill of Rights, state governments have not been required to do so following the Supreme Court’s decision in the Slaughter-House Cases. 2 The Court’s grant of certiorari in McDonald v. City of Chicago, however, could signal a departure from the Slaughter-House precedent. McDonald will consider whether the Privileges or Immunities Clause or the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment incorporate the right to keep and bear arms, making the right binding against state governments. If the Court applies the Second Amendment to the states through the Privileges or Immunities Clause and overturns Slaughter-House, the decision could throw the existing substantive due process framework into disarray because many rights would apply through both the Due Process and Privileges or Immunities clauses. The Court, however, may useRead More
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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