| Venue: | SCOTUS |
| Facts: | Heller is a DS cop who wants to have a working gun in his home. DC has banned this, more or less. |
| Posture: | Heller sues in federal district court. DC Ct. App. grants him summary judgment. |
| Issue: | Is the 2A right an individual right, or is it in connection with militia service? |
| Holding: | Individual right. |
| Rule: | The operative clause codifies a "right of the people." |
| Reasoning: | The handgun ban amounts to a prohibition of an entire class of arms that is overwhelminglu chosen by American society for [a] lawful purpose. And the home is the place where you'd most want defence. |
| Dicta: | Stevens (dissenting): There's no indication that the framers of 2A had
self-defense in mind.
Breyer (dissenting): Consider the facts as the legislature saw them: it was necessary for the government to act to protect its citizens. Legislators, not judges, have the primary responsibility for drawing policy conclusions from empirical fact. |