If Missouri passed a law making it illegal for anyone to carry a gun what action might the US Supreme Court take?

Answer 1

None, unless the law was challenged all the way through the court system (as a constitutional violation) and granted certiorari for review by the US Supreme Court.

Gun laws are addressed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution. The Second Amendment was recently incorporated, meaning Second Amendment constitutional rights and restrictions now apply to the states, as well as the federal government. The Supreme Court's decision in McDonald (below) virtually guarantees restrictive gun laws would be overturned as unconstitutional, if challenged.

In District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 US ___ (2008), the Supreme Court struck down a District of Columbia law imposing tight restrictions on the use and storage of legally owned handguns as an unconstitutional infringement of Second Amendment protection. This decision applies only to the District of Columbia, however, which is under federal control, not to the states, which are independent.

McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 US ___ (2010), a case similar to Heller, determined that the states must incorporate and abide by the Second Amendment.

The decision in McDonald will affect handgun laws in all 50 states.

For more information, see Related Questions and Related Links, below.