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High court of America Samoa rules the 2A has no effect in that territory

American Samoa is only partially covered by the U.S. Constitution and federal law because it is classified as an unincorporated and unorganized U.S. territory.

Application of the U.S. Constitution
  • Unincorporated Status: Under the Supreme Court's "Insular Cases," an unincorporated territory is one where Congress has not applied the full corpus of the U.S. Constitution. Only "fundamental" constitutional rights (such as due process and equal protection under basic standards) apply.
  • Local Custom and Land Rights: Because the entire Constitution does not apply, American Samoa can enforce local laws—such as restricting land ownership to people of indigenous Samoan ancestry (fa'a Samoa)—that would otherwise violate the U.S. Constitution on equal protection or racial grounds.
  • Citizenship: American Samoa is the only U.S. territory whose residents are born as U.S. nationals rather than U.S. citizens. The 14th Amendment's birthright citizenship clause does not automatically apply there.
Application of U.S. Federal Law
  • Unorganized Status: American Samoa is "unorganized" because Congress has never passed an "organic act" defining its formal governmental structure. Instead, authority was delegated to the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the territory operates under its own constitution adopted in 1967.
  • Federal Statutes: Some federal laws apply automatically, while others require specific congressional extension. For example, federal minimum wage rules were extended to the territory in 2007, and residents elect a non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. However, other federal statutory schemes (like certain copyright or tax provisions) do not automatically take effect in the same manner as the U.S. mainland.
  • Self-Governance: The territory retains broad control over its own local immigration, border matters, and internal governance
 
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