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The Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment

Second Amendment

Which interpretation—collective or individual—has the U.S. Supreme Court adopted?

The U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the individual-rights model of interpreting the Second Amendment in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008). The Court ruled 5 to 4 that the prefatory clause about a “well-regulated militia” does not limit the operative clause that talks about “the right of the people.”