McDonald v. Chicago held that the Second Amendment applies to the states through which constitutional mechanism?

• A. Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
• B. Equal Protection Clause
• C. Privileges or Immunities Clause
• D. Commerce Clause

Answer: (A)

Incorporation through the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause is how the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments. The idea is that the Constitution's protections, initially limiting only the federal government, are extended to state action by treating certain rights as fundamental and applying them via the Fourteenth Amendment. In McDonald, the Court held that this right to keep and bear arms is incorporated through the Due Process Clause, so state and local gun restrictions must respect it. The Equal Protection Clause deals with equal treatment, not the vehicle for applying individual rights to the states; the Privileges or Immunities Clause has been used far less for this purpose, and the Commerce Clause isn’t the mechanism for incorporating rights.