2nd Amendment Review: Can States Regulate the Carrying of Handguns Outside the Home?

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms." In the 2010 decision District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court explained that those words ensure that individuals may have guns in their homes for purposes of self-defense. The Supreme Court has now granted certiorari in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Corlett, in which the Court is asked "[w]hether the Second Amendment allows the government to prohibit ordinary law-abiding citizens from carrying handguns outside the home for self-defense."

This program, presented by Robert Rosborough of Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, will discuss the Supreme Court's prior precedent applying the Second Amendment, the prior challenge to New York's gun laws, the case that brought this important and controversial issue back to the Supreme Court, a short survey of Second Amendment precedent from around the country, and the arguments that the Supreme Court will be confronting in October Term 2021. What the Supreme Court decides will undoubtedly have a significant impact on gun rights throughout the country. Brushing up on the constitutional text and precedent that will inform the Court's decision will benefit everyone, from Supreme Court and appellate litigators to general practitioners who may have a client desiring to carry a handgun outside of their home.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Review prior Supreme Court and Court of Appeals precedent applying the Second Amendment 

2. Identify the issues currently facing the Supreme Court in Corlett 

3. Discuss the arguments the Supreme Court will be considering