Self-Defense & Gun Rights Self-Defense & Gun Rights United States v. Cruikshank (1876): Does the right to keep and bear arms exist separately from the Constitution? Presser v. Illinois (1886): Do private citizens have a right to associate as private military groups? United States v. Miller (1939): Does an individual have a right to possess a weapon like a short-barrelled shotgun that is unconnected to a well-regulated militia? District of Columbia v. Heller (2008): Does an individual have a right to possess a gun in the home for self-defense unconnected with service in a militia? McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010): Does an individual have a right to carry a gun for self-defense in violation of a city law that bans handgun possession by private citizens? Caetano v. Massachusetts (2016): Does an individual have a right to carry a stun gun? New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen (2022): Does an individual have a right to carry a handgun for self-defense without demonstrating a special need to the government? United States v. Rahimi (2024): Does in individual have a right to possess a firearm, if that individual has been found by a court to pose a credible threat to the safety of another? Return to all the Supreme Court cases.