I’ll post more later, but here’s the gist of it. The Supreme Court has found that the 2nd Amendment does, in fact, guarantee an individual right to own firearms. The decision was 5-4, with notable dissent. Regulations, including registration and licensing, are permitted, and overall, the waters are a bit murky.
The decision is available here [pdf].
Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited. From Blackstone through the 19th-century cases, commentators and courts routinely explained that the right was not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.
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Scalia wrote the majority opinion, supported by Thomas, Kennedy, Roberts and Alito.
Held:
1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
Continued...