McDonald v. Chicago (2010) is the required AP Gov Supreme Court case in which the Court used selective incorporation to apply the Second Amendment's individual right to keep and bear arms to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.
McDonald v. Chicago (2010) is one of the required Supreme Court cases for AP Gov, and it answers one specific question. After D.C. v. Heller (2008) said the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own a gun for self-defense, did that right also limit what states and cities could do? Chicago had a handgun ban almost identical to D.C.'s, but Chicago is a city, not a federal enclave, so Heller alone didn't cover it. Otis McDonald, a Chicago resident who wanted a handgun for self-defense, challenged the ban.
The Court ruled 5-4 that the Second Amendment is incorporated against the states through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. In plain terms, McDonald is Heller plus selective incorporation. The Court treated the right to bear arms as fundamental to the American scheme of ordered liberty, which means no state or local government can simply ban handgun ownership for self-defense. The case struck down Chicago's ban and extended the Second Amendment's reach from the federal government to all levels of government.
McDonald sits at the intersection of two Unit 3 topics. For Topic 3.5, it supports learning objective 3.5.A, explaining how the Court's reading of the Second Amendment reflects a commitment to individual liberty (the Court's decision rests on its interpretation of the right to bear arms as an individual, fundamental right). For Topic 3.7, it supports 3.7.A on the implications of selective incorporation, because McDonald is the textbook example of the doctrine in action. Selective incorporation limits state power by extending Bill of Rights protections to the states one at a time through the Due Process Clause, and McDonald is the case that did this for the Second Amendment. If you can explain McDonald clearly, you've basically explained how incorporation works.
Keep studying AP Gov Unit 3
D.C. v. Heller and the Second Amendment (Unit 3)
Heller (2008) established that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms, but only against the federal government. McDonald took Heller's holding and applied it to states and cities two years later. Think of them as a two-step move, with Heller defining the right and McDonald spreading it nationwide.
Selective Incorporation (Unit 3)
McDonald is the most recent major incorporation case and the clearest modern illustration of the doctrine. It shows incorporation isn't just historical trivia from the 1920s; the Court is still deciding, right by right, which Bill of Rights protections bind the states.
Gitlow v. New York (Unit 3)
Gitlow (1925) started the incorporation process by applying free speech to the states. McDonald is the same logic almost a century later, applied to a different amendment. Pairing the two lets you show incorporation as an ongoing process, which is exactly what a strong FRQ answer on 3.7.A does.
Fourteenth Amendment (Unit 3)
The Due Process Clause is the actual legal vehicle in McDonald. The Second Amendment supplies the right, but the Fourteenth Amendment is what makes that right enforceable against Chicago. On MCQs, the Fourteenth is usually the answer to 'which amendment extended the Second to the states.'
McDonald is one of the 15 required Supreme Court cases, so you're expected to know its facts, holding, and reasoning cold. Multiple-choice questions typically ask which right McDonald incorporated, which amendment made incorporation possible (the Fourteenth), or what constitutional principle links Heller and McDonald (an individual-rights reading of the Second Amendment, extended via due process). McDonald is also a prime candidate for the SCOTUS comparison FRQ, where you'd compare a non-required case to McDonald and explain how its reasoning about incorporation or the Second Amendment applies. The most common mistake is crediting the Second Amendment alone for limiting states. The right comes from the Second, but the power to bind states comes from the Fourteenth, and you need to say both.
Heller (2008) and McDonald (2010) get mixed up constantly because both protect an individual right to own handguns for self-defense. The difference is who they bind. Heller applied only to the federal government because Washington, D.C. is a federal district. McDonald incorporated that same right against state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. Quick check for the exam: if the question mentions a state or city law, or the Fourteenth Amendment, the answer is McDonald.
McDonald v. Chicago (2010) incorporated the Second Amendment against state and local governments, striking down Chicago's handgun ban.
The constitutional vehicle was the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, not the Second Amendment by itself.
McDonald extended D.C. v. Heller (2008), which had recognized an individual right to bear arms but only against the federal government.
The case is a flagship example of selective incorporation, the doctrine that applies Bill of Rights protections to the states one right at a time.
McDonald shows the Supreme Court interpreting the Second Amendment as a commitment to individual liberty, which is exactly what learning objective 3.5.A asks you to explain.
As one of the 15 required cases, McDonald can appear in MCQs or as the anchor case in the SCOTUS comparison FRQ.
In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Second Amendment's individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, striking down Chicago's handgun ban.
Yes. It's one of the 15 required Supreme Court cases in the AP Gov CED, tied to Topic 3.5 (Second Amendment) and Topic 3.7 (Selective Incorporation). You need its facts, holding, and reasoning for both MCQs and the SCOTUS comparison FRQ.
Heller (2008) recognized an individual right to bear arms but only limited the federal government, since D.C. is a federal district. McDonald (2010) used the Fourteenth Amendment to extend that right to states and cities. Heller created the right; McDonald incorporated it.
No. McDonald struck down outright handgun bans like Chicago's, but it did not eliminate gun regulation. States and cities can still pass gun laws; they just can't ban the core right to own a handgun for self-defense in the home.
The Fourteenth Amendment, specifically its Due Process Clause. This is a favorite MCQ trap. The Second Amendment supplies the right, but the Fourteenth is what makes it enforceable against state and local governments.
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