Conservative ideals continue to be reflected in the most recent Supreme Court rulings. This particular decision, however, could impact the way in which Americans defend themselves for decades to come.
On Thursday, the nation’s highest court decided that a long-standing New York concealed carry law violated the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The Supreme Court considered arguments over the case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen in November, when justices in the 6-3 Republican-appointed majority appeared skeptical of the law’s requirement to demonstrate a “proper cause” for obtaining a license to carry a concealed pistol or revolver.
Justice Clarence Thomas authored the 6-3 ruling that reversed a lower court decision upholding New York’s 108-year-old law that limited who can obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun in public.
“The constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense is not ‘a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees,’” Thomas wrote.
CLARENCE THOMAS: “Thus, even though the Second Amendment’s definition of “arms” is fixed according to its historical understanding, that general definition covers modern instruments that facilitate armed self-defense”. pic.twitter.com/GhPpzPKQgt
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 23, 2022
A momentous victory for the Second Amendment. Clarence Thomas writes, "The exercise of other constitutional rights does not require individuals to demonstrate to government officers some special need."
Our constitutional rights shall not be infringed! pic.twitter.com/mHKlaC2kPP
— Rep. Andrew Clyde (@Rep_Clyde) June 23, 2022
A pair of plaintiffs who challenged the law, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, filed their lawsuit after the Empire State rejected their concealed carry applications for insufficiently demonstrating a special need for a permit despite having already passed required background checks for gun licenses for hunting and target practice.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, gave an immediate impassioned speech after the ruling was handed down. She hinted that the state would step in and take action to update its gun laws.
In response to this ruling, we are closely reviewing our options – including calling a special session of the legislature.
Just as we swiftly passed nation-leading gun reform legislation, I will continue to do everything in my power to keep New Yorkers safe from gun violence.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) June 23, 2022
Hochul vowed in May to call for an emergency legislative session this summer to craft new gun legislation as a means to work around the expected high court decision that curtailed the state’s concealed carry permit law.
You have to ask yourself why Democrats are so eager to eliminate the right to protect oneself using a firearm. Is it because guns are the only viable defense against tyrannical governments, and, as they’ve proven repeatedly, Democrats fit the definition of tyrannical perfectly.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both blasted the court decision Thursday, with Harris saying the the ruling “defies common sense and the Constitution.”
Today's Supreme Court ruling on guns is deeply troubling as it defies commonsense and the Constitution. Lives are at stake. Congress should pass the bipartisan gun safety proposal immediately and continue to do more to protect our communities.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) June 23, 2022
South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman said earlier this month that Democratic state legislators could respond by making it “impossible” to carry firearms in specific sensitive locations throughout New York City.
Subways, buses, and trains will likely not allow concealed weapons, which so happens to be the areas where violent crime flourishes. Residents won’t be allowed to conceal firearms within 100 feet of a school or any federal building, which is virtually everywhere in most major cities.
The decision over New York’s restrictive concealed carry regime could affect eight other states with similar laws, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.
Advocates for gun rights, including the National Rifle Association, also cheered the decision in Bruen.
Bruen builds on the court’s previous major gun rights decision over a decade ago. In the 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, a 5-4 decision ruled that the Constitution shields a person’s right to hold a firearm in their home for self-defense.
Thursday’s decision also builds on a 5-4 decision by Justice Samuel Alito in 2010, which held that the 14th Amendment makes the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense applicable to the states.
SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!
Author: Robert Bogart
