In a landmark decision with broad ramifications for states and cities across the country dealing with an uptick in gun violence, the US Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Americans have a fundamental right to carry a handgun in public.
The 6-3 decision strikes down a more than century-old New York law that required a person to prove they had legitimate self-defense need to receive a permit to carry a concealed handgun outside the home.
The opinion states that the 2nd and 14th amendments “protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home.”
Here’s what Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the Court’s opinion, referencing two previous gun cases:
“In this case, petitioners and respondents agree that ordinary, law-abiding citizens have a similar right to carry handguns publicly for their self-defense. We too agree, and now hold, consistent with Heller and McDonald, that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home,”
“Because the State of New York issues public-carry licenses only when an applicant demonstrates a special need for self-defense, we conclude that the State’s licensing regime violates the Constitution.”
The Supreme Court STRIKES DOWN a New York gun-control law that required people to show “proper cause” to get a license to carry a concealed handgun outside the home. The vote is 6-3. https://t.co/jA2Gl7lTiG
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 23, 2022
New York established a concealed carry law that seemed strict and was dependent on the officials who approved it. This made it more difficult in New York than it was in many other states to obtain a concealed carry permit. The 2nd Amendment shouldn’t be held to a lower standard than the other rights guaranteed by the Constitution, according to the majority’s argument.
Thomas said, “sensitive places” in New York are defined as any location “where people typically congregate and where law-enforcement and other public-safety professionals are presumptively available.”We do think respondents err in their attempt to characterize New York’s proper-cause requirement as a’sensitive-place’ law,” Thomas wrote.
Thomas argued that this concept is excessively inclusive.
Simply put, he stated, “There is no historical basis for New York to effectively declare the island of Manhattan a “sensitive place” because it is crowded and generally protected by the New York City Police Department.”
Government officials are not allowed to infringe upon the right to publicly carry a firearm for self-defense.
The Second Amendment is not some “second-class right” determined by permits and other forms of government permission.
It is also not a right only to be exercised “after demonstrating to government officials some special needs,” according to Thomas.
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Sources: Westernjournal, Indy100, Deseret
staff