Dr. John Lott discussion on Gun Rights, Gun Rights Policy Conference & The Supreme Court. Background checks on private transfers, individual right for self-defense The Heller Decision. Trump vs Crooked Hillary District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held in a 5-4 decision that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution applies to federal enclaves and protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. The decision did not address the question of whether the Second Amendment extends beyond federal enclaves to the states, which was addressed later by McDonald v. Chicago (2010). It was the first Supreme Court case to decide whether the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense. On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals for the D.C. ...