Government analysis
The Second Amendment at the Supreme Court: Challenges to Federal Gun Laws
Congressional Research Service
An August 2025 overview of Second Amendment challenges to federal firearm restrictions.
Begin with the source
The original text.
Amendment II
Ratified December 15, 1791
U.S. Constitution / Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Original spelling and punctuation preserved.
Read. Compare. Follow the source.
The research file.
15 local PDFs for this amendment, with source details and a direct download for each. Start with an overview or follow a case.
Read each source in context. Court decisions and dated analyses are preserved as published. Later law may change their meaning. Sources marked as context explore related questions; they are not direct holdings on this amendment.
15 documents in this file
Government analysis
Courts Disagree as to Whether the Federal Felon-in-Possession Firearm Prohibition Violates the Second Amendment
Congressional Research Service
Explains the appellate disagreement over possession by people with felony convictions as of May 2024, before Rahimi.
Court decision
United States v. Rahimi
Supreme Court of the United States
Firearm restrictions involving domestic-violence restraining orders and the use of historical analogies after Bruen.
Scholarship
Enforcement of Public Carry Restrictions: Texas as a Case Study
UC Davis Law Review
Examines evidence about enforcement of public-carry laws and its use in Second Amendment interpretation.
Court decision
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen
Supreme Court of the United States
Public carry licensing and the text-and-tradition approach to Second Amendment challenges; read with Rahimi.
Government analysis
The Second Amendment at the Supreme Court: New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen
Congressional Research Service
A concise contemporary explanation of Bruen and its implications for firearm legislation.
Scholarship
Tribes, Firearm Regulation, and the Public Square
UC Davis Law Review
A pre-Bruen scholarly examination of tribal firearm regulation, self-defense, and sensitive places.
Government analysis
Federal Firearms Laws: Overview and Selected Legal Issues for the 116th Congress
Congressional Research Service
Statutory context for constitutional firearms disputes, describing the federal framework as of 2019 rather than current compliance advice.
Government analysis
Post-Heller Second Amendment Jurisprudence
Congressional Research Service
A detailed pre-Bruen survey of firearms litigation; its earlier scrutiny framework was later rejected in Bruen.
Government analysis
Can the Government Prohibit 18-Year-Olds from Purchasing Firearms?
Congressional Research Service
A pre-Bruen discussion of firearm purchase age restrictions and a Florida challenge; read as an account of the litigation at publication.
Government analysis
A Second Amendment Right to Sell Firearms? The Ninth Circuit, Sitting En Banc, Weighs In.
Congressional Research Service
A pre-Bruen analysis of commercial firearms sales and the constitutional distinction between sellers and purchasers.
Court decision
Caetano v. Massachusetts
Supreme Court of the United States
The Court addresses a stun-gun prohibition and the treatment of arms not in existence at the founding.
Court decision
McDonald v. City of Chicago
Supreme Court of the United States
Application of the Second Amendment to state and local governments.
Court decision
District of Columbia v. Heller
Supreme Court of the United States
The individual right to possess a handgun for self-defense in the home, with majority and dissenting opinions.
Court decision
United States v. Miller
Supreme Court of the United States
An early decision on regulated weapons and militia service; read alongside Heller and later decisions.
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