What did the Court decide about the Second Amendment in McDonald v. Chicago regarding state applicability?

• A. It does not apply to the states
• B. It was not decided
• C. It only applies to federal territories
• D. It applies to the states

Answer: (D)

The key idea here is incorporation: the idea that protections in the Bill of Rights can be applied to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. In McDonald v. Chicago, the Court held that the Second Amendment’s protection of an individual's right to keep and bear arms is not limited to the federal government; it is incorporated and thus applies to state and local governments as well. This means state and local gun laws must respect the Second Amendment just as federal law does. The decision relies on the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause to extend the right beyond federal jurisdictions, building on the earlier Heller decision that recognized the right at the federal level.