SCOTUS to Take Second Amendment Case

[Charlie T Waite]

The U.S. Supreme Court decided April 26 that it will hear its first Second Amendment case that deals specifically with firearms in more than a decade. 

The case itself challenges New York’s onerous requirements to lawfully carry a firearm; specifically, restrictions that residents applying for their Second Amendment rights must demonstrate “proper cause” to do so—a barrier the state routinely uses to deny applicants a right that is supposed to be free from arbitrary restrictions imposed by the government.

The brief challenges the constitutionality of New York’s practice based on the Second Amendment guarantee of the right to “‘keep and bear arms’ to ‘all the people,’” not just to the select few that the state deems worthy, reported the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action (ILA).

New York City is home to some of the most restrictive firearms regulations in the country, and this case will give the Court a chance to affirm what most states already recognize, that there is an individual right to self-defense beyond the home.

This NRA-backed case is called New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen. Previously, it was called New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Corlett; the name changed because the superintendent of New York State Police has changed since the lawsuit began.

“The Court rarely takes Second Amendment cases. Now it’s decided to hear one of the most critical Second Amendment issues. We’re confident that the Court will tell New York and the other states that our Second Amendment right to defend ourselves is fundamental, and doesn’t vanish when we leave our homes,” said Jason Ouimet, executive director of NRA-ILA.

This Second Amendment case will give the Court the opportunity to expand on its decision in McDonald v. Chicago, the 2010 case in which the Court ruled the Second Amendment is a fundamental right that also restricts state and local governments from infringing on this protection. Before McDonald, the Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) that the Second Amendment protects an individual right.

A1F.com will keep you up-to-date on this case. Stay tuned for further analysis of what the potential outcomes could mean for the right to keep and bear arms.