Post-Heller Second Amendment Jurisprudence

Herman, Sarah S.

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.

关键词: Constitutional law;    Judicial decisions;    Supreme Court decisions;    Firearms control;   

RP-ID  :  R44618
RP-ID  :  R44618_2017Nov21

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

This report examines the scope of the Second Amendment, as interpreted by the federal circuit courts of appeals, after the watershed Supreme Court decisions in "District of Columbia v. Heller" and "McDonald v. City of Chicago". After "Heller" and "McDonald", numerous challenges were brought on Second Amendment grounds to various federal, state, and local firearm laws and regulations. Because Heller neither purported to define the full scope of the Second Amendment, nor suggested a standard of review for evaluating Second Amendment claims, the lower federal courts have been tasked with doing so in the Second Amendment challenges brought before them. This report discusses in detail notable post-Heller Second Amendment cases decided by federal courts of appeals. Because "Heller" and "McDonald" provide the only recent Supreme Court guidance on the Second Amendment, the analyses in these cases may provide useful guideposts for Congress should it seek to enact further firearm regulations.