Which case held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for self-defense within the home?

Which case held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for self-defense within the home?

• A. McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010)
• B. District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)
• C. New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
• D. Boerne v. Flores (1997)

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is whether the Court recognized that individuals have a right to use firearms in self-defense inside the home under the Second Amendment. District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) is the case that established this principle, holding that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm for lawful purposes, including self-defense, within the home. The decision struck down a federal district ban on handgun possession in D.C. and clarified that this right is not unlimited—certain restrictions are permissible (for example, prohibitions on carrying in sensitive places or limits on possession by felons or the mentally ill), but the core right to possess for self-defense at home is guarded. That case is distinct from the others cited. New York Times Co. v. United States deals with freedom of the press, Boerne v. Flores concerns the scope of congressional power under the Fourteenth Amendment, and none of those address firearm rights. The later case McDonald v. City of Chicago built on Heller by applying the same Second Amendment protection to the states through incorporation, but the foundational ruling about the home self-defense right comes from Heller.

The idea being tested is whether the Court recognized that individuals have a right to use firearms in self-defense inside the home under the Second Amendment. District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) is the case that established this principle, holding that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm for lawful purposes, including self-defense, within the home. The decision struck down a federal district ban on handgun possession in D.C. and clarified that this right is not unlimited—certain restrictions are permissible (for example, prohibitions on carrying in sensitive places or limits on possession by felons or the mentally ill), but the core right to possess for self-defense at home is guarded.

That case is distinct from the others cited. New York Times Co. v. United States deals with freedom of the press, Boerne v. Flores concerns the scope of congressional power under the Fourteenth Amendment, and none of those address firearm rights. The later case McDonald v. City of Chicago built on Heller by applying the same Second Amendment protection to the states through incorporation, but the foundational ruling about the home self-defense right comes from Heller.