Ruling in United States v. Miller, on May 15, 1939, the majority opinion declared that “The Court can not take judicial notice that a shotgun having a barrel less than 18 inches long has today any reasonable relation to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia; and therefore can not say that the Second Amendment guarantees to the citizen the right to keep and bear such a weapon.”
The question presented was:
Whether “the Second Amendment guarantees to the citizen the right to keep and bear [a shotgun having a barrel less than 18 inches long].”
The opinion
Read the full rulingPDF · 316.86 KBPublished by the Library of Congress.
Oral argument
No recording. The Court did not begin taping oral argument until 1955.
