Article
To Heller and Back
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice
(2009)
Abstract
Extensive legal research confirmed a Standard Model of the Second Amendment: the Founders’ intended to recognize and protect a preexisting individual right to own and use firearms for self-defense. Although most gun laws will remain constitutional, despite their irrelevance to crime control, the Supreme Court's 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller invalidated the nation's most restrictive law, which had banned the possession of handguns and had banned the use of any firearm for home protection. It remains to be seen whether the Supreme Court will “incorporate” the Second Amendment in the Fourteenth Amendment so that it limits excessively restrictive state and local laws as well. Criminologically, Heller will probably lead to an increase in gun use against home invasions and a possible decrease of such invasions. Unfortunately, specific data about home invasions are not collected, so the results may be impossible to measure.
Keywords
- Second Amendment,
- District of Columbia v. Heller,
- Supreme Court,
- handguns,
- firearms,
- protection,
- self-defense,
- home invasion,
- gun control
Disciplines
Publication Date
February 1, 2009
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986208329694
Citation Information
David B Kopel and Paul H. Blackman. "To Heller and Back" Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Vol. 25 Iss. 1 (2009) p. 106 - 112 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/david_kopel/94/