Constitutional Opinion No. 2026-0690
Case Information
- Content Scored
- McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010) — Second Amendment incorporated against the States
- Source
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Author
- Justice Alito (majority; 5-4)
- Publication Date
- 2010-06-28
- Content Type
- Court Opinion
- Opinion Issued
- 2026-07-19
- AFCS Version
- 1.0
Holding
In McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms (recognized as individual in Heller) is incorporated against the States through the Fourteenth Amendment and is a fundamental right. It holds the right "fully applicable to the States," reasons it is "fundamental to our scheme of ordered liberty" and "deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition," and identifies self-defense as "a basic right" and "the central component." This is the direct constitutional embodiment of the Right to Self-Defense (Article VIII, 95), decided by the originalist history-and-tradition method the Permanence of the Constitutional Order prizes (Article XVII, 90), vindicating an individual liberty against government infringement (Article II, 88). As a court opinion evaluated for the principle it enacts, the v1.2 Legal/Normative Text Weighting (85/15) applies. The contrast with the 16th Amendment (Opinion 2026-0652, 37 Establishment) confirms the framework grades legal texts by substance: a provision expanding federal taxing power scored low, a ruling securing armed self-defense scores highest. No Automatic Fail — the decision is the antithesis of the firearm-seizure trigger; it forbids the government from disarming the citizen. Tier 1 = 91; Final 91 — America First, the highest score in the case-law record to date.
It is the judgment of this Court that Opinion No. 2026-0690 is hereby entered into the record, in accordance with the America First Constitutional Standard. The score stands. The reasoning is published. The record is public.