Superpowers and the Second Amendment

Although some superheroes and villains have powers that are harmless or at least not directly harmful to others (e.g., invulnerability, superintelligence), many have abilities that have no or only limited uses apart from harm (e.g., Cyclops’ optic blasts, Superman’s heat vision).  Although the government may be limited in its ability to discriminate on the basis of mutant status or innate superpowers, could the federal government or the states regulate superpowers as weapons without running afoul of the Second Amendment?  I think the answer is a very qualified yes.

(Before we begin, note that I’m limiting this to innate powers; it seems obvious that superhero gadgets could be regulated just like mundane weapons.)

The Supreme Court has relatively recently addressed the Second Amendment in two cases: DC v. Heller, 554 U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 2783 (2008) and McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. ___ (2010).  The first case dealt with the District of Columbia’s ability to regulate firearms, and broadly speaking the second case applied the same limits to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment.  In particular, Heller held that the District of Columbia’s ban on the possession of usable handguns in the home violated the Second Amendment.  From those decisions we can get a sense of how a comic book universe court might address the issue of superpowers-as-arms.

I. The Scope of the Second Amendment

First, let us begin with the text of the Amendment: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”  Here is how the Court defined the individual terms.

“The people” refers to the people individually, not collectively, and not only to the subset of the people that could be a part of the militia.  128 S.Ct. at 2791.  “Arms” refers broadly to “weapons of offence, or armour of defence” and “any thing that a man wears for his defence, or takes into his hands, or useth in wrath to cast at or strike another,” and it is not limited to weapons in existence in the 18th Century.  Id. at 2791-92. Interestingly, this suggests that defensive powers may also be protected by the Second Amendment, but for the sake of brevity I will limit the rest of this post to a discussion of offensive abilities.

“To keep and bear arms” means “to have weapons” and to “`wear, bear, or carry . . . upon the person or in the clothing or in a pocket, for the purpose . . . of being armed and ready for offensive or defensive action in a case of conflict with another person.'” Id. at 2793 (quoting Muscarello v. United States, 524 U.S. 125 (1998) (J. Ginsburg dissenting)).  Taken together, the Second Amendment guarantees “the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation,” but the right does not extend to any and all confrontations–there are limits. Id. at 2797-99.

The Court first addressed limitations established by past precedents: “the Second Amendment confers an individual right to keep and bear arms (though only arms that ‘have some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia’).” Id. at 2814 (quoting United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174, 178 (1939).  Further, “the Second Amendment does not protect those weapons not typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, such as short-barreled shotguns.”  Id. at 2815-16.

Beyond that, there are lawful limits on concealed weapons as well as “prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.”  Id. at 2816-17.  Perhaps most importantly for our purposes, there is a valid, historical limitation on “dangerous and unusual weapons.” Id. at 2817.

With the scope of the right established, let us now turn to whether the government could regulate superpowers under the Second Amendment.

II. Analysis

We may start with the presumption that a superpower may be possessed and  used for lawful purposes such as self-defense.  The question is whether a given power fits into any of the exceptions that limit the Second Amendment right.

A. Concealed Weapons

First, many superpowers could be considered ‘concealed weapons.’  Before the Human Torch shouts ‘flame on!’ and activates his power, he appears to be an ordinary person.  Could the government require a kind of Scarlet Letter to identify those with concealed superpowers?  I think the answer is a qualified yes.  I do not think the Constitution would tolerate requiring innately superpowered individuals to identify themselves continuously.  That would seem to violate the constitutional right to privacy and the limited right to anonymity.  Furthermore, simply keeping concealed weapons is allowed (e.g., a hidden gunsafe in a home).   The real objection is to concealed weapons borne on the person in public.

Thus I believe the calculus changes when a superhero sets out to bear his or her powers against others in public (e.g. goes out to fight crime).  Luckily, many superheroes already identify themselves with costumes or visible displays of power (e.g. Superman, the Human Torch).  Beyond that, most states offer concealed carry permits to the public, usually after a thorough background check and safety & marksmanship training.  It may well be that the Constitution requires that if a state will grant a concealed carry permit for a firearm then it must do the same for an otherwise lawful superpower.

B. “Typically Possessed by Law-Abiding Citizens for Lawful Purposes”

Whether this limitation encompasses a given superpower may depend on the number of superpowered individuals in a given universe and the balance of lawful superheroes to unlawful supervillains.  If superpowered individuals are relatively common, which seems to be the case in the Marvel Universe, for example, and superpowered individuals are generally law-abiding and use their powers for lawful purposes then superpowers would seem to be protected by the Second Amendment. If, on the other hand, superpowers are very unusual or if they are typically used unlawfully, then the government may be able to regulate such powers.

It seems to me that in most comic book universes powers are both relatively common and normally used for good, suggesting that they do not fall under this exception.  However, if certain kinds of powers are more commonly associated with law-breaking, then perhaps those powers in particular may be regulated, though in my experience powers of all kinds seem evenly distributed between heroes and villains.

C. “Dangerous and Unusual Weapons”

Here we come to the catch-all.  Superpowers are certainly unusual in an historical sense (not counting the Marvel 1602 continuity), and they are unusual in the sense that in most comic book universes superpowered individuals are a minority.  But perhaps it is the nature of the power that counts.  If a superpowered individual is approximately as powerful as a normal individual with a handgun (though perhaps one with unlimited ammunition), is that really so unusual?

Wherever the line is drawn, it seems clear that at least some superpowers would qualify as dangerous or unusual weapons (e.g., Cyclops’ optic blasts, Havok’s plasma blasts).  These are well beyond the power of weapons allowed even by permit, and their nature is unlike any weapon typically owned by individuals or even the police and military.

III. The Nature and Scope of Regulation

Given that some powers are likely to fall outside the protection of the Second Amendment, how could the government regulate them?  We’ve already discussed the issue of concealed powers, but what about powers that fall into the other two exceptions?

I believe the government would take a page from the way it regulates mundane firearms.  First, all possessors of potentially harmful powers could be subject to a background check if they did not have the powers from birth.  If they failed the background check, they could be forbidden to use the power (although use in self-defense might still be allowed by the Constitution).  A registration scheme would be likely (Note, this likely would not run afoul of the Constitution because it does not apply to all mutants or superpowered individuals, just those with potentially harmful powers).

Second, exceptional powers could be subject to a permitting system including more thorough background checks and training requirements.  Some powers could be expressly prohibited outside police or military use.

Third, superpowered individuals who committed crimes–with or without their powers–may be forbidden from using them or even required to have their powers deactivated, if possible.  Following the decision in United States v. Comstock it may even be permissible to indefinitely detain a superpowered criminal after their prison sentence was completed if it was not otherwise possible to prevent future criminal acts.

What about uncontrolled powers, for which merely forbidding the use isn’t enough?  I think this falls outside the scope of the Second Amendment and is closer to the law of involuntary commitment.  If a superpowered individual is a danger to himself or herself or others, then he or she could be required to undergo de-powering treatment or be incarcerated for their own protection and the protection of society.

IV. Conclusion

The Supreme Court’s current view of the Second Amendment, though politically contentious, would give superpowered individuals greater protection to keep and use their powers largely free from government regulation or interference, with some important limitations.