What does the Second Amendment protect?

The Second Amendment protects the right to own firearms, subject to reasonable regulations established by Congress, state legislatures, and the courts. The Supreme Court interpreted the amendment as protecting an individual right in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), where Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for a 5-4 majority that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms for traditionally lawful purposes such as self-defense in the home. McDonald v. Chicago (2010) applied this protection against state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause. New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) extended the right to public carry, requiring gun regulations to fit the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.

The boundaries Heller drew remain important. The Court explicitly endorsed laws prohibiting felons and the mentally ill from possessing firearms, banning weapons in sensitive places such as schools, federal buildings, and polling stations, regulating commercial sales, and prohibiting dangerous and unusual weapons. United States v. Rahimi (2024) upheld a federal statute disarming people subject to domestic violence protective orders, finding it consistent with historical surety laws.

Federal regulation includes the National Firearms Act of 1934 covering machine guns, short barreled rifles, and silencers; the Gun Control Act of 1968 regulating interstate sales and licensed dealers; the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 establishing the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, which expanded background checks for buyers under twenty-one and closed the boyfriend loophole in domestic violence prohibitions. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives administers most of these laws and licenses dealers under the federal firearms license system.

State laws vary widely. Some states require permits to purchase, mandatory waiting periods, magazine capacity limits, assault weapon bans, safe storage requirements, red flag laws allowing temporary removal of firearms from people deemed dangerous, and concealed carry permits, while other states have adopted permitless carry. Federal law sets eighteen as the minimum age for long gun purchases and twenty-one for handguns from licensed dealers.

The amendment does not protect every type of weapon. Heller noted the right covers weapons in common use for lawful purposes, which has been read to exclude fully automatic firearms and explosives. It also does not bar reasonable safety regulation, licensing, registration in some states, or prosecution for misuse of a firearm. Naturalization candidates encountering questions about the Second Amendment should recognize that the right to own firearms is a constitutional protection limited by regulations governing who, what, where, and how guns may be possessed.