Also known as: right to keep and bear arms · right to bear arms · keep and bear arms · Second Amendment · 2A · bear arms right
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An individual right protected by the Second Amendment to possess and carry firearms for lawful purposes, particularly self-defense in the home. The right extends to public carry when consistent with historical tradition and applies against the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
Raphael Rivera keeps a loaded handgun in his apartment nightstand for protection after repeated break-ins. City police seize the weapon under an ordinance banning all handgun possession inside residences and requiring other firearms to be disassembled. Rivera sues, claiming the seizure prevents immediate self-defense at home.
Ruby Rivera stores a shotgun in her garage after a neighbor warns of rising thefts. State legislation imposes a complete prohibition on keeping any functional firearm in a private dwelling. Rivera petitions the court to enjoin enforcement, arguing the statute directly contravenes the constitutional language.
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Ricardo Rojas purchases a revolver for home defense in a state that forbids all handgun ownership. After police arrest him for possession, Rojas moves to dismiss the charges on federal constitutional grounds. The state court must decide whether the federal protection binds state officials.
Roberto Reyes applies for a permit to carry a concealed handgun while walking to his night-shift job. State officials deny the application under a discretionary licensing scheme that lacks historical analogues. Reyes sues, asserting the denial violates his right to bear arms outside the home.
Rosalind Reed keeps a rifle in her rural home after local threats. State prosecutors charge her under a statute interpreted to ban long guns in certain dwellings. Reed appeals her conviction, arguing the state court misapplied the federal constitutional guarantee.
Riley Rivera faces prosecution after police discover a firearm during a search of his residence. He raises the constitutional protection as a defense but the trial court refuses to consider it on procedural grounds. Rivera appeals, seeking review of whether the right can be asserted in his case.
Yes. A complete prohibition on handguns in the home combined with requirements that other firearms be kept inoperable prevents immediate self-defense and violates the right.
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Yes. The right applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause, allowing challenges to state and local firearm restrictions in federal court.
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Regulations must be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation. Interest-balancing tests are not used.
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…not a series of isolated points pricked out in terms of the taking of property; the freedom of speech, press, and religion; the right to keep and bear arms; the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures; and so on. It is a rational continuum which, broadly speaking, includes a freedom from all substantial arbitrary impositions and…