The Bill of Rights and the States Revisited after Heller

In this Article, Professor Curtis discusses textual and historical support for application of the Bill of Rights to the States, the mess the Supreme Court made of application in its early cases, and the implication of application for the right to bear arms. Finally, he notes the likely irony of application of the Second Amendment to the states by "conservative" Justices. Application will be ironic in light of harsh past criticism of application by so many who characterized themselves as "conservative." After application, the emerging and very difficult issue will be the deference the Court gives to state and local legislation seeking to deal with the very substantial problems of guns and public safety.