Mcdonald Vs Chicago Essay

Elections are vital in maintaining a democratic government, ensuring that the will of the collective people shall be represented by their elected officials. However, under certain forms of government, including that of the United States, individual liberties are protected from governmental legislation. This can create a strange predicament in which the will of the people conflicts with the rights of the individual, thus spurring debate as to which will take precedent. This conflict was the central cause of McDonald v. Chicago, in which laws formed by democratically elected officials were contested on the grounds of civil liberty infringement by individuals in the community. While the McDonald v. Chicago case was being reviewed by the Supreme Court in 2010, the laws in question were implemented approximately 30 years prior. According to Rubin (2005), the policies that brought forth McDonald v. Chicago were first discussed, “In 1982, [when] Mayor Jane Byrne and the city council began holding hearings…for [the ban] of further registration of handguns in …show more content…
Countless citizens saw the efforts of the city of Chicago as vital in assisting police officers tasked with fighting urban crime, believing that recognizing a citizen’s right to carry a firearm would protect criminals (Rosenthal & Malcolm, 2011, p.441). However, since D.C. v Heller, the federal government recognized the citizen’s right to possess firearms. This created a contrasting opinion between the people of Chicago who prioritized reducing gun violence and the Supreme Court who had previously held that the American people have to right to purchase and possess firearms without extreme government