Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/07pdf/07-290.pdf
Page Number: 60

Cite as:  554 U. S. ____ (2008) 

57 

Opinion of the Court 

the  home  “the  most  preferred  firearm  in  the  nation  to 
‘keep’  and  use  for  protection  of  one’s  home  and  family,” 
478 F. 3d, at 400, would fail constitutional muster. 

Few laws in the history of our Nation have come close to
the  severe restriction  of  the  District’s  handgun  ban.  And 
some  of  those  few  have  been  struck  down.  In  Nunn  v. 
State, the  Georgia Supreme Court struck down a prohibi­
tion  on  carrying  pistols  openly  (even  though  it  upheld  a 
prohibition on carrying concealed weapons).  See 1 Ga., at 
251.  In  Andrews  v.  State,  the  Tennessee  Supreme  Court 
likewise held that a statute that forbade openly carrying a 
pistol  “publicly  or  privately,  without  regard  to  time  or
place,  or  circumstances,”  50  Tenn.,  at  187,  violated  the 
state  constitutional  provision  (which  the  court  equated 
with  the  Second  Amendment).    That  was  so  even  though 
the statute did not restrict the carrying of long guns.  Ibid. 
See  also  State  v.  Reid,  1  Ala.  612,  616–617  (1840)  (“A 
statute  which,  under  the  pretence  of  regulating,  amounts 
to a destruction of the right, or which requires arms to be 
so borne as to render them wholly useless for the purpose 
of defence, would be clearly unconstitutional”). 

It  is  no  answer  to  say,  as  petitioners  do,  that  it  is  per­
missible to ban the possession of handguns so long as the 
possession of other firearms (i.e., long guns) is allowed.  It 
is enough to note, as we have observed, that the American
people have considered the handgun to be the quintessen­
tial  self-defense  weapon.    There  are  many  reasons  that  a 
citizen may prefer a handgun for home defense: It is easier 
to store in a location that is readily accessible in an emer­
gency;  it  cannot  easily  be  redirected  or  wrestled  away  by
an attacker; it is easier to use for those without the upper-
body strength to lift and aim a long gun; it can be pointed 
at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the
police.  Whatever the reason, handguns are the most popu­

—————— 

tional laws, and would have no effect.