On June 26, 2008, ten years ago, two things happened that dramatically altered the landscape of Second Amendment law. The first was the Supreme Court ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller, holding that individuals had a right under the Second Amendment to armed self-defense, and that handgun bans (such as the Washington D.C. ban at issue) was unconstitutional. The second was the filing (fifteen minutes after the Heller Opinion was released) of McDonald v. City of Chicago, in which the Supreme Court held, almost exactly two years later, that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protected individuals against local and state infringement as well, and thus Chicago’s handgun ban was unconstitutional and ordered stricken.
There has been much litigation regarding the scope of the Second Amendment since then, mostly involving who has Second Amendment rights, which firearms are protected, and where it does (or does not) apply. This office has been involved in much of that litigation, in cases affecting public housing, lawful resident aliens, foster and home day care licensees, assault weapons, public carry of firearms, gun ranges and stores , and helping individuals with FOID and concealed carry licenses issues. These battles have been in Illinois, across the United States, and even across the globe. Some of these case names may ring bells, and many will not. But they are all important in staking out Second Amendment freedoms.
This office would like to thank the many organizations who dedicate themselves to this important issue, the dedicated attorneys throughout America who tirelessly fight these cases, and the individuals who have been willing to put their names on a Complaint and publicly stand up for what they believe. It is only through everyone’s efforts that progress gets made.
