The US Supreme Court has struck down a New York law that restricts gun-carrying rights, in
its most important judgement on guns in over a decade. This decision expands gun rights amid a national debate over the issue.
Although this decision jeopardizes similar regulations in states like New Jersey
and California, it is expected to allow more people to carry guns legally.
About ¼ of Americans live in states that could find their own gun restrictions challenged.
However, after finding that a New York law requiring all residents to prove “proper cause”, or
to carry concealed firearms in public, the court chose to strike it down because they thought it
violated the US Constitution.
Justice Clarence Thomas, who was writing on behalf of six other conservative judges who
make up the court’s majority, ruled that Americans have a right to carry “commonly used”
firearms in public as personal defense.
Even in the shadow of the mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo only one month prior, the six
justice conservative majority on the Supreme Court stood by a broad interpretation of the
Second Amendment to “keep and bear arms.”
The three liberal justices, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Stephen Breyer, disagreed with
the majority opinion. The court’s decision clears the way for legal challenges to similar restrictions in Maryland, California, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Massachusetts.
It comes amid political divisions over how to address gun violence, which were deepened by
high-profile shootings at a primary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. Both events happened in the last month.
The current president, Joe Biden, said he was “deeply disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s
decision, which “contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should trouble us
all.”
New York City Mayor, Eric Adams, said he would review other ways of restricting gun access,
such as by tightening the application process for buying firearms and looking at banning guns
altogether in certain locations. “We cannot allow New York to become the wild, wild west,” he
added. The National Rifle Association (NRA) celebrated the judgement.
The Supreme Court decision continues a steady pattern of rulings that have expanded gun
rights, holding that the right to carry firearms both at home and in public is guaranteed by the
Second Amendment of the US Constitution.
The last landmark gun decision issued by the court was in 2010, which upheld individual gunownership rights within homes on a national basis. As these court precedents pile up, it will get more difficult for future Supreme Court justices to change course and interpret the Constitution as permitting broader gun restrictions.
its most important judgement on guns in over a decade. This decision expands gun rights amid a national debate over the issue.
Although this decision jeopardizes similar regulations in states like New Jersey
and California, it is expected to allow more people to carry guns legally.
About ¼ of Americans live in states that could find their own gun restrictions challenged.
However, after finding that a New York law requiring all residents to prove “proper cause”, or
to carry concealed firearms in public, the court chose to strike it down because they thought it
violated the US Constitution.
Justice Clarence Thomas, who was writing on behalf of six other conservative judges who
make up the court’s majority, ruled that Americans have a right to carry “commonly used”
firearms in public as personal defense.
Even in the shadow of the mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo only one month prior, the six
justice conservative majority on the Supreme Court stood by a broad interpretation of the
Second Amendment to “keep and bear arms.”
The three liberal justices, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Stephen Breyer, disagreed with
the majority opinion. The court’s decision clears the way for legal challenges to similar restrictions in Maryland, California, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Massachusetts.
It comes amid political divisions over how to address gun violence, which were deepened by
high-profile shootings at a primary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. Both events happened in the last month.
The current president, Joe Biden, said he was “deeply disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s
decision, which “contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should trouble us
all.”
New York City Mayor, Eric Adams, said he would review other ways of restricting gun access,
such as by tightening the application process for buying firearms and looking at banning guns
altogether in certain locations. “We cannot allow New York to become the wild, wild west,” he
added. The National Rifle Association (NRA) celebrated the judgement.
The Supreme Court decision continues a steady pattern of rulings that have expanded gun
rights, holding that the right to carry firearms both at home and in public is guaranteed by the
Second Amendment of the US Constitution.
The last landmark gun decision issued by the court was in 2010, which upheld individual gunownership rights within homes on a national basis. As these court precedents pile up, it will get more difficult for future Supreme Court justices to change course and interpret the Constitution as permitting broader gun restrictions.
