3.5 - 3.6 Review

“As the quotations earlier in this opinion demonstrate, the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right. The handgun ban [by the District of Columbia] amounts to a prohibition of an entire class of ‘arms’ that is overwhelmingly chosen by American society for that lawful purpose. The prohibition extends, moreover, to the home, where the need for defense of self, family, and property is most acute. Under any of the standards of scrutiny that we have applied to enumerated constitutional rights. . . banning from the home ‘the most preferred firearm in the nation to ‘keep’ and use for protection of one’s home and family, . . .would fail constitutional muster.’”

-Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

Supporters of Scalia’s view that handgun bans violate Second Amendment rights could cite which of the following Supreme Court cases to support their argument?

• Shaw v. Reno (1993)

• McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

“The Second Amendment was adopted to protect the right of the people of each of the several States to maintain a well-regulated militia. It was a response to concerns raised during the ratification of the Constitution that the power of Congress to disarm the state militias and create a national standing army posed an intolerable threat to the sovereignty of the several States. Neither the text of the Amendment nor the arguments advanced by its proponents evidenced the slightest interest in limiting any legislature’s authority to regulate private civilian uses of firearms. Specifically, there is no indication that the Framers of the Amendment intended to enshrine the common-law right of self-defense in the Constitution.”

Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, dissenting opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

Which of the following statements is most consistent with the author’s argument in this passage?

• The Second Amendment does not protect a person’s right to have a weapon for self-defense

• The Second Amendment states that the government cannot ban the sale of any weapon to any person

Which of the following statements explains how the Supreme Court has attempted to balance the power of the government with protections for individual liberties?

• In cases involving interpretations of the Second Amendment, the Court has shown a commitment to an individual’s right to own a gun

• In cases involving interpretations of the Eighth Amendment, the Court has shown a commitment to the government’s right to punish as they deem necessary

In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Court held that the District of Columbia could not ban the registration of handguns or require weapons to be nonfunctional in the home.

Which of the following amendments was the focus of the Court's ruling?

• The Second Amendment

• The Eighth Amendment

Which of the following amendments is most relevant to the topic of the cartoon?

• The First Amendment

• The Fourth Amendment

“It is clear that the ancient and humane limitation upon the State's ability to execute its sentences has as firm a hold upon the jurisprudence of today as it had centuries ago in England. The various reasons put forth in support of the common-law restriction [on executing the insane] have no less logical, moral, and practical force than they did when first voiced. For today, no less than before, we may seriously question the retributive value of executing a person who has no comprehension of why he has been singled out and stripped of his fundamental right to life.”

-Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, majority opinion in Ford v. Wainwright (1986)

Based on the text, which of the following amendments was the focus of the Court’s ruling in Ford v. Wainwright (1986)?

• The Second Amendment

• The Fourth Amendment

• The Sixth Amendment

• The Eighth Amendment

“Everyone believes that the FBI should have the tools it needs to catch dangerous criminals. But too often over the past decade, intelligence and law enforcement agencies choose approaches that sweep up information from millions of innocent Americans instead of targeting terrorists and criminals. These approaches don’t make us safer.

“The changes to Rule 41 allow the FBI to hack millions of victims of cybercrime. These victims of hacks are regular people, not criminals.”

-Cecilia Kang, “Ron Wyden Discusses Encryption, Data Privacy and Security,” New York Times, October 9, 2016

Based on the text, which of the following statements would Senator Wyden most likely agree with?

• The prohibition of warrantless searches of suspected criminals fails to protect citizens from potential crimes

• The Fourth Amendment does not protect the collection of digital metadata and should not require a warrant

• Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures in the Fourth Amendment can reasonably be suspended to promote public safety

• The need for public safety should not exceed an individual’s protection from unreasonable search and seizure

“Everyone believes that the FBI should have the tools it needs to catch dangerous criminals. But too often over the past decade, intelligence and law enforcement agencies choose approaches that sweep up information from millions of innocent Americans instead of targeting terrorists and criminals. These approaches don’t make us safer.

“The changes to Rule 41 allow the FBI to hack millions of victims of cybercrime. These victims of hacks are regular people, not criminals.”

-Cecilia Kang, “Ron Wyden Discusses Encryption, Data Privacy and Security,” New York Times, October 9, 2016

Which of the following constitutional provisions limits the power of the federal government to collect digital metadata as described by Senator Wyden?

• The Eighth Amendment in the Bill of Rights

• Judicial review in Article III

• The Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights

Which of the following government policies would be most likely to draw criticism for interfering with individual rights under the Second Amendment?

• The federal government passes a budget that allocates more money to the military

• The federal government passes a law banning the sale of automatic weapons to anyone under the age of twenty-one

Which of the following best describes the message of the GIF above?

• The Supreme Court is refusing to hear cases around the Second Amendment in an effort to leave the issue of gun control to the legislative branch

• The Supreme Court’s recent interpretations of the Second Amendment reflect a commitment to individual liberty