<Ul> <Li> This right has been incorporated against the states . Described as a fundamental and individual right that will necessarily be subject to strict scrutiny by the courts , see McDonald v. City of Chicago ( 2010 ) . Self Defense is described as `` the central component '' of the Second Amendment in McDonald , supra. , and upheld District of Columbia v. Heller 554 U.S ( 2008 ) concluding the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment right , recognized in Heller , to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self - defense . The 14th Amendment makes the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms fully applicable to the States , see , McDonald vs. City of Chicago ( 2010 ) . `` The right to keep and bear arms must be regarded as a substantive guarantee , not a prohibition that could be ignored as long as the States legislated in an evenhanded manner , '' McDonald , supra ... </Li> </Ul>
when was the second amendment 's right to bear arms selectively incorporated against the states
2010