District Of Columbia Vs Heller Case Summary

On March 17, 2008, the District of Columbia v. Heller case was first argued in the Supreme Court. Dick Anthony Heller, a special police officer from Washington D.C., decided to take his case to court when he was told he could not posses a firearm for self defense. Heller asked the question of whether the Second Amendment does or does not protect the individual right to keep and bear a firearm for self-defense. Heller was fighting against the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975, which banned all ownership of a firearm in a person’s home, with the exception of law enforcement. The Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 states that all weapons must be “unloaded, disassembled, or bound by a trigger lock or similar device.” This was the first time in seventy years that the Supreme Court heard about what exactly the Second Amendment meant or included in relations to its gun control and ownership laws. The case was brought finally to the Supreme Court after going through both the District Court and the Court of Appeals. In District Court, the case was dismissed by Judge Ricardo M. Urbina. After this, the case was sent to the Court of

Heller case was concluded on June 26, 2008 by a 5-4 decision. The final decision was delivered by Justice Antonin Scalia. After fighting since 2002, Dick Anthony Heller had won in the Supreme Court. The decision was that "the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.” (Justice Antonin Scalia, Oyez.org) He claims that the ruling was largely based off of the wording of the Second Amendment. Justice John Paul Stevens, even though he ruled against Heller, stated that D.C.’s ruling was “both reasonable and appropriate.” (Justice John Paul Stevens, Oyez.org) Justice Stephen Breyer, even though he too ruled against Heller, agrees with Justice