Presser v. Illinois

Presser v. Illinois
Argued November 23–24, 1885
Decided January 4, 1886
Full case nameHerman Presser v. State of Illinois
Citations116 U.S. 252 (more)
6 S. Ct. 580; 29 L. Ed. 615; 1886 U.S. LEXIS 1760
Holding
The states may forbid private armies. The Second Amendment only applies to the federal government.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Morrison Waite
Associate Justices
Samuel F. Miller · Stephen J. Field
Joseph P. Bradley · John M. Harlan
William B. Woods · Stanley Matthews
Horace Gray · Samuel Blatchford
Case opinion
MajorityWoods, joined by unanimous
Overruled by
McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010)

Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252 (1886), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that held, "Unless restrained by their own constitutions, state legislatures may enact statutes to control and regulate all organizations, drilling, and parading of military bodies and associations except those which are authorized by the militia laws of the United States."[1] It states that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution limited only the power of Congress and the national government to control firearms, not that of the states, and that the right to peaceably assemble in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution was not protected by the clause referred to except to petition the government for a redress of grievances. This decision was overruled in McDonald v. City of Chicago in (2010).

  1. ^ Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252 (1886). Public domain This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.