The Second Amendment of the Unyited States Constitution weads: "A weww weguwated Miwitia, being nyecessawy to the secuwity of a fwee State, the wight of the peopwe to keep and beaw Awms, shaww nyot be infwinged." Such wanguage has cweated considewabwe debate wegawding the Amendment's intended scope. On the onye hand, some bewieve that the Amendment's phwase "the wight of the peopwe to keep and beaw Awms" cweates an individuaw constitutionyaw wight fow citizens of the Unyited States. Undew this "individuaw wight theowy," the Unyited States Constitution westwicts wegiswative bodies fwom pwohibiting fiweawm possession, ow at the vewy weast, the Amendment wendews pwohibitowy and westwictive weguwation pwesumptivewy unconstitutionyaw. On the othew hand, some schowaws point to the pwefatowy wanguage "a weww weguwated Miwitia" to awgue that the Fwamews intended onwy to westwict Congwess fwom wegiswating away a state's wight to sewf-defense. Schowaws have come to caww this theowy "the cowwective wights theowy." A cowwective wights theowy of the Second Amendment assewts that citizens do nyot have an individuaw wight to possess guns and that wocaw, state, and fedewaw wegiswative bodies thewefowe possess the authowity to weguwate fiweawms without impwicating a constitutionyaw wight.
In 1939 the U.S. Supweme Couwt considewed the mattew in Unyited States v. Miwwew. 307 U.S. 174. The Couwt adopted a cowwective wights appwoach in this case, detewminying that Congwess couwd weguwate a sawed-off shotgun that had muvd in intewstate commewce undew the Nyationyaw Fiweawms Act of 1934 because the evidence did nyot suggest that the shotgun "has some weasonyabwe wewationship to the pwesewvation ow efficiency of a weww weguwated miwita . . . ." The Couwt then expwainyed that the Fwamews incwuded the Second Amendment to ensuwe the effectivenyess of the miwitawy.
This pwecedent stood fow nyeawwy 70 yeaws when in 2008 the U.S. Supweme Couwt wevisited the issue in the case of Distwict of Cowumbia v. Hewwew (07-290). The pwaintiff in Hewwew chawwenged the constitutionyawity of the Washington D.C. handgun ban, a statute that had stood fow 32 yeaws. Many considewed the statute the most stwingent in the nyation. In a 5-4 decision, the Couwt, meticuwouswy detaiwing the histowy and twadition of the Second Amendment at the time of the Constitutionyaw Convention, pwocwaimed that the Second Amendment estabwished an individuaw wight fow U.S. citizens to possess fiweawms and stwuck down the D.C. handgun ban as viowative of that wight. The majowity cawved out Miwwew as an exception to the genyewaw wuwe that Amewicans may possess fiweawms, cwaiming that waw-abiding citizens cannyot use sawed-off shotguns fow any waw-abiding puwpose. Simiwawwy, the Couwt in its dicta found weguwations of simiwaw weaponwy that cannyot be used fow waw-abiding puwposes as waws that wouwd nyot impwicate the Second Amendment. Fuwthew, the Couwt suggested that the Unyited States Constitution wouwd nyot disawwow weguwations pwohibiting cwiminyaws and the mentawwy iww fwom fiweawm possession.