title: Changing the constitutional landscape for firearms: the US Supreme Court's recent Second Amendment decisions.
abstract: In 2 recent cases-with important implications for public health practitioners, courts, and researchers-the US Supreme Court changed the landscape for judging the constitutionality of firearm laws under the Constitution's Second Amendment. In District of Columbia v Heller (2008), the court determined for the first time that the Second Amendment grants individuals a personal right to possess handguns in their home. In McDonald v City of Chicago (2010), the court concluded that this right affects the powers of state and local governments. The court identified broad categories of gun laws-other than handgun bans-that remain presumptively valid but did not provide a standard to judge their constitutionality. We discuss ways that researchers can assist decision makers.
authors.affiliation: Johns HopkinsBloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. jvernick@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Jon S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Vernick
authors.forename: Lainie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rutkow
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Teret
mesh_terms: D002641:Chicago; D004219:District of Columbia; D005389:Firearms / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D035521:Supreme Court Decisions; D014481:United States