Glossary

District of Columbia v. Heller

The 2008 Supreme Court ruling that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep a handgun at home for self-defense.

Also called: Heller, D.C. v. Heller

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) was the first Supreme Court decision to hold that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess firearms, rather than only a right connected to militia service. Writing for a 5-4 majority, Justice Antonin Scalia struck down the District of Columbia's ban on handguns in the home and its requirement that other firearms be kept disassembled or locked.

The Court read the amendment's prefatory clause about a "well regulated Militia" as announcing a purpose but not limiting the operative right of "the people." It also said the right is not unlimited, listing as presumptively lawful measures such as bans on possession by felons and the mentally ill, restrictions in sensitive places and conditions on commercial sales.

Two years later, McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) applied the holding to the states through incorporation doctrine. Heller set up later fights over which regulations are allowed, including assault weapons ban laws and licensing. The Court refined its method in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. Dissenting justices argued that the amendment concerns militias, and that history permits significant regulation.

Last reviewed November 8, 2026

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Related terms

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen The 2022 Supreme Court ruling striking down New York's discretionary concealed-carry licensing and setting a history-based test for gun laws. Incorporation doctrine The doctrine applying most Bill of Rights protections to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. History and tradition test A method for judging a law by whether it fits the nation's historical practice, used in Second Amendment and some other constitutional cases. Constitutional carry A state law that lets people legally carry a handgun without a permit, usually if they are otherwise eligible to own one. Assault weapons ban A law prohibiting the sale or manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms defined by cosmetic or functional features; the federal ban expired in 2004.