Original: 2008 & ndash ; The U.S. Supreme Court rules in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects an individual right , and that the District of Columbia handgun ban is unconstitutional .
Simplified: 1997 - Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone ( Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone in the U.S. ) , the first book in J.K. Rowlings hugely popular Harry Potter series , is published .