Incorporation Case: The Mcdonald V. Chicago Case

Incorporation Doctrine and McDonald v. Chicago
The McDonald v. Chicago case was a crucial decision by the Supreme Court regarding the 2nd Amendment and state law. This case is interesting for a couple of reasons in my opinion. Firstly, the case revolves around legislation of the 2nd Amendment which is a right held dear to myself and many other Americans. Secondly, the case gives an example of the incorporation doctrine being fully applied. This is not something that happens frequently, and only three amendments have been fully incorporated. The cases involved typically set a major precedent and are an interesting topic to study.
Incorporation Doctrine
According to Cornell, “The incorporation doctrine is a constitutional doctrine through

Justices Breyer, Ginsberg, Souter, and Stevens were those who dissented. I found the dissent opinion written by Breyer to be very interesting. Justice Breyer concluded, “a sounder approach would be a “balancing test” that focuses on “practicalities” (Rose, August 20, 2010, Pg. 1). To me this sounds as if government agents would have the right to determine how practical a citizen’s constitutional rights are and limit those rights by their will. Furthermore, Breyer believe that by taking account of the evidence of gun crime and gun violence relative to location the ban would be constitutional. One major issue I find with this opinion is the fact that there has never been any accredited research that states the banning of firearms has any positive affect on violence and crime. There is possibly even evidence that suggests the opposite. In summary Breyer and the other dissenting Justices believed that private self-defense was not fundamental to the principles of liberty and justice.
Conclusion
I found the outcome of this case to be interesting and am generally supportive of the majority opinion. One key aspect to remember is that for a right to be incorporated it must be so essential to fundamental principles of ordered liberty and justice that it can become protected from state and federal action. In my mind, I do not see how any patriotic American could not understand how the 2nd Amendment applies to these principles. This is proven by the history and birth of America. “The lessons that we learn are written on the tombstones of others” (Reid