Which amendment serves as the basis for applying the Second Amendment to the states in McDonald v. Chicago?

• A. First Amendment
• B. Fourteenth Amendment
• C. Sixth Amendment
• D. Ninth Amendment

Answer: (B)

This question tests how a right from the Bill of Rights becomes binding on state and local governments through incorporation. In McDonald v. Chicago, the Court held that the Second Amendment is incorporated against the states via the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. That means the right to keep and bear arms, originally limited to the federal government, also applies to state and local governments. This uses the ongoing process of selective incorporation, where most rights in the Bill of Rights are applied to the states over time through the Fourteenth Amendment. The others listed aren’t the basis for this case: the Fourteenth Amendment provides the mechanism to apply such rights to the states, while the Sixth and Ninth govern different topics and were not the vehicle for applying the Second Amendment to the states in this decision.