The film “Second Amendment: D.C. v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago” examines the history of guns and gun ownership in our society from the Revolutionary War to modern times and the complicated debate over what the founders intended when they wrote the Second Amendment. Does it protect a right of individuals to keep and bear arms? Or is it a right that can be exercised only through militia organizations like the National Guard?
Grades 11-12: Understanding the Second Amendment through Primary Sources: Assessing the Supreme Court’s Opinion in D.C. v. Heller
In this lesson, students will examine the scope, origins and development of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Students will assess and evaluate the Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) by assuming the role of Supreme Court justice and engaging directly with the historical source materials used by the Court. Students will then work together as a class to decide on the scope and meaning of the Second Amendment.
8th Grade: Understanding the Second Amendment through Primary Sources: Assessing the Supreme Court’s Opinion in D.C. v. Heller
In this lesson students, will examine the scope, origins and development of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Students will assess and evaluate the Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) by assuming the role of Supreme Court justice and engaging directly with the historical source materials used by the Court. Students will then work together as a class to decide on the scope and meaning of the Second Amendment.
D.C. v. Heller (2008)
Do D.C. provisions violate the rights of private citizens who wish to keep handguns and other firearms for private use? This case summary shows how the Supreme Court answered that question in 2008.