New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen

Introduction:

On June 23rd, the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen case saw the Supreme Court rule, 6-3, that a century-old New York law preventing some people from carrying concealed weapons in public places is unconstitutional, weakening regulations on gun ownership nationwide [1]. This decision was the first significant SCOTUS gun ruling in more than a decade. Justice Clarence Thomas previously complained that the high court permitted the Second Amendment be treated as a “disfavored right” [2]

The Case and Question:

A person must demonstrate proper cause, as defined by New York law, in order to obtain a concealed carry permit for a handgun under the requirements in New York Penal Law Section 400.00. Two men, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch challenged this law as their conceal carry license got rejected due to not having a “deemable cause” [3]. The question of whether the Second Amendment was broken when the State rejected petitioners’ requests for concealed carry permits for self-defense. The district court dismissed petitioners’ complaint and the Court of Appeals affirmed. During the court case, The District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago, were brought up and examined by the judges as both cases paralleled the idea of being able to carry a gun for self defense beyond home in a public setting [4].

Ruling:

The court overturned the lower courts’ rulings, concluding that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protected a person’s freedom to carry a pistol for self-defense outside the home and that New York State’s licensing system was unconstitutional. No other constitutional right requires a demonstration of “proper-cause” to use it. Only when there has been a history of such regulation in the United States are gun limitations considered to be legal [5]