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The operative clause's text and history demonstrated that it connoted an individual right to keep and bear arms, and the Court's reading of the operative clause was consistent with the announced purpose of the prefatory clause. None of the Court's precedents foreclosed its conclusions.

The Court held that the Second Amendment right was not unlimited, and it noted that its opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on certain long-standing prohibitions related to firearms. Heller - U. He also believed that the law violated the Second Amendment. The city also pointed out that the law did not ban all guns, and that it was a reasonable way to prevent crime.

The Court reasoned that the prefatory clause gave one reason for the Second Amendment, but it did not limit the right listed in the operative clause—the second part of the amendment—to own weapons only for militia service. It is this phrasing that is used in the operative clause of the Second Amendment.

Four of the nine Supreme Court Justices dissented. Some of the dissenters agreed that the Second Amendment protected an individual right. One dissenter agreed that the Second Amendment protected an individual right, but argued that the District law was a reasonable restriction.

One thing is certain. Like all other rights in the Bill of Rights such as freedom of speech and press , the right to keep and bear arms has limits. See United States v. District of Columbia law bans handgun possession by making it a crime to carry an unregistered firearm and prohibiting the registration of handguns; provides separately that no person may carry an unlicensed handgun, but authorizes the police chief to issue 1-year licenses; and requires residents to keep lawfully owned firearms unloaded and dissembled or bound by a trigger lock or similar device.

Respondent Heller, a D. He filed this suit seeking, on Second Amendment grounds, to enjoin the city from enforcing the bar on handgun registration, the licensing requirement insofar as it prohibits carrying an unlicensed firearm in the home, and the trigger-lock requirement insofar as it prohibits the use of functional firearms in the home. The District Court dismissed the suit, but the D.

The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. He said, "It is important to respect the court's authority and to act quickly," and gave the police department twenty-one days to develop a plan for registering weapons.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence responded that they were disappointed with the interpretation of the Second Amendment, but also optimistic about the continued ability to enforce gun safety laws. President George W. Bush praised the decision, saying that he agreed with the interpretation: "As a longstanding advocate of the rights of gun owners in America, I applaud the Supreme Court's historic decision today confirming what has always been clear in the Constitution: the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear firearms.

Though this decision determined a constitutional right to own firearms for personal use, there were several questions left unanswered. After the Supreme Court's decision, lawsuits were filed in various United States cities that also had gun bans. Ballotpedia features , encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error.

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