Last Thursday, the United States Supreme Court passed a ruling that struck down a New York law restricting gun carrying rights. The court found that the law, which required residents to prove “proper cause,” or a good reason, to carry concealed firearms in public violated the US Constitution. Justice Clarence Thomas, representing the majority of the court, ruled that Americans have the right to carry “commonly used” firearms in public for self-defense.
This new ruling clears the way for legal challenges aimed at similar restrictions in other states, such as Maryland, California, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Massachusetts. It came amid political divisions over how to address gun violence, which were deepened by the shootings at a primary school in Texas and a grocery store in New York. Additionally, the decision was announced just as a new law that would tighten gun access passed the Senate.
This is the first national gun control bill in nearly three decades, passing by 65-33. The new law includes measures such as expanding background checks for gun buyers under twenty one and offering funding to states that have programs to seize guns from people considered dangerous by a judge.
Even with the mass shootings recently occurring, the six-justice conservative majority on the Supreme Court held their broad interpretations of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution for the right to “keep and bear arms.”
President Joe Biden said that he was “deeply disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s decision. He believes that it “contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should trouble us all.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams also disagreed with this ruling, saying that he would review other ways to restrict gun access. Methods he proposed included tightening the application process for buying firearms and bans at certain locations. “We cannot allow New York to become the wild, wild west,” he added.
In contrast, the National Rifle Association (NRA) celebrated the judgment. The NRA has backed the plaintiffs in the case, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, two New Yorkers who have been denied a concealed carry permit application, despite having licenses for recreational gun ownership.
The Supreme Court decision adds to a chain of rulings that have expanded gun rights in recent years.
This new ruling clears the way for legal challenges aimed at similar restrictions in other states, such as Maryland, California, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Massachusetts. It came amid political divisions over how to address gun violence, which were deepened by the shootings at a primary school in Texas and a grocery store in New York. Additionally, the decision was announced just as a new law that would tighten gun access passed the Senate.
This is the first national gun control bill in nearly three decades, passing by 65-33. The new law includes measures such as expanding background checks for gun buyers under twenty one and offering funding to states that have programs to seize guns from people considered dangerous by a judge.
Even with the mass shootings recently occurring, the six-justice conservative majority on the Supreme Court held their broad interpretations of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution for the right to “keep and bear arms.”
President Joe Biden said that he was “deeply disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s decision. He believes that it “contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should trouble us all.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams also disagreed with this ruling, saying that he would review other ways to restrict gun access. Methods he proposed included tightening the application process for buying firearms and bans at certain locations. “We cannot allow New York to become the wild, wild west,” he added.
In contrast, the National Rifle Association (NRA) celebrated the judgment. The NRA has backed the plaintiffs in the case, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, two New Yorkers who have been denied a concealed carry permit application, despite having licenses for recreational gun ownership.
The Supreme Court decision adds to a chain of rulings that have expanded gun rights in recent years.
