Page 27 - OAD 2023 First Monday Digital Journal
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activities.” Heller, 554 U.S. at 574 (internal quotations omitted). After an extensive textual

               analysis, the Court pronounced that, at its base, the Second Amendment “guarantee[s] the

               individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.” Id. at 592. This was

               the first time the Court had found an individual right unrelated to militia service. The Court

               grounded its ruling in the historical background of the Second Amendment, which has been
               understood to codify a “pre-existing right.”  Id. The Court acknowledged, however, that

               Second Amendment rights were not unlimited and that its opinion should not be construed

               as disturbing other longstanding prohibitions on firearm possession and use. Id. at 626-627.
               The Court held that the District of Columbia law amounted to a complete prohibition on the

               possession of certain firearms that extended to an individual’s home and would therefore

               “fail constitutional muster.” Id. at 628-629.


























































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