Wolford v. Lopez · ¶27

The city of Chicago opposed nationwide application of Heller, arguing that law enforcement needs and public attitudes about guns varied from State to State and city to city and that States and cities should have leeway to regulate gun possession as their lawmakers saw fit. See Brief for Respondent in McDonald v. Chicago, O. T. 2009, No. 08– 1521, pp. 24–31. The Court, however, disagreed. The plurality opinion, joined by four Justices, concluded that the Second Amendment right, like nearly all the rights protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments, should apply equally to the Federal Government and the States. McDonald, 561 U. S., at 750. Following a body of precedent dating back more than a century, the plurality concluded that the provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that did this work was the Due Process Clause. Id., at 767–787. JUSTICE THOMAS, who provided…

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