SCOTUS - Open carry of guns is constitutionally protected

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ASPartOfMe
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23 Jun 2022, 10:36 am

Supreme Court strikes down New York concealed gun law in 6-3 decision

Quote:
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that New York’s century-old concealed carry handgun law violated the Second Amendment, a finding long feared by local officials who viewed the law as a linchpin in efforts to curb the proliferation of pistols on New York City streets.

The 6 to 3 decision, which is the court’s most significant gun-rights ruling in more than a decade, voided the state’s Sullivan Act, a regulation that limited concealed carry handgun licenses to New Yorkers with specific defense needs.

The court’s conservative majority was widely expected to gut the gun law after hinting at their opposition during oral arguments in the fall. But the decision in the case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, still landed a blow to New York Democrats and promised swift political outcry from Brooklyn to Buffalo and beyond.

Mayor Adams said repeatedly in recent weeks the looming Supreme Court decision was keeping him up at night.

“Can you imagine being on the 4 train with someone having a 9-millimeter, exposed?” the mayor said at a news conference earlier this month. “This is not the Wild Wild West.”

Gov. Hochul has said she would consider calling lawmakers back to the state capitol if the court invalidated the gun regulation. “We will have to figure it out,” she told reporters last month. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect the people of this state”.

But lawmakers will now be operating under judicial edicts from Washington that have significantly expanded constitutional gun rights in the 21st century. In 2008, the Supreme Court held in a landmark decision that Americans have a personal right to possess guns that is baked into the Second Amendment.

That 5-to-4 ruling, in District of Columbia v. Heller, struck down a strict gun-control law in Washington that outlawed possession of handguns at home. The New York ruling went further, extending firearm protections in the public realm.


Supreme Court says Constitution protects right to carry a gun outside the home
Quote:
"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," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the court's 6-3 majority.

The opinion changes the framework that lower courts will use going forward as they analyze other gun restrictions, which could include the proposals currently before Congress if they eventually become law.

"The majority's expansion of what the Second Amendment protects will have monumental ramifications far beyond carrying firearms in public -- on everything from age restrictions to assault weapons bans to limits on high-capacity magazines," said Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law.
"We're in for a whole new slew of litigation challenging any and every gun-control measure in light of the analysis in today's ruling," Vladeck said.

Only about a half dozen states have similar laws to New York's -- California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey -- have similar regulations, but those states are comprised of some of the most densely populated cities in the country.

Twenty-five states generally allow people to carry concealed weapons in most public spaces without any permit, background check or safety training, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

In his opinion, Thomas said that going forward the government "may not simply posit that the regulation promotes and important interest," instead he said the judges must look to text and history when deciding whether a law passes muster.

"Only if a firearm regulation is consistent with this Nation's historical tradition may a court conclude that the individual's conduct falls outside the Second Amendment's unqualified command," Thomas said.

In a dissent joined by the other liberals, Justice Stephen Breyer noted the spate gun violence and said that the court, listing several recent shootings, including the massacre at the Buffalo grocery store earlier this year. Thursday's ruling "severely burdens States' efforts" to curb gun violence, Breyer wrote.

Justice Samuel Alito, in a concurring opinion, pushed back: "And how does the dissent account for the fact that one of the mass shootings near the top of its list took place in Buffalo? The New York law at issue in this case obviously did not stop that perpetrator."

The conservative justices also dismissed concerns defenders of New York's gun law raised about how the law restricted the carrying of firearms into sensitive places.


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Dox47
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24 Jun 2022, 12:41 am

Your headline is incorrect, it wasn't open carry that was at issue but rather the "may issue" system in use in NY that allowed them to pick and choose who got concealed carry permits vs a simple qualification, as is commonly used in "shall issue" states, which are the majority.

That's actually the least important part of the ruling though, the (very) big deal is that the courts are no longer allowed to use a 2 part test in determining whether or not a law infringes the 2nd Amendment, they now have to use what is called a text, history, and tradition analysis, which is going to allow almost all modern gun control to be challenged and rolled back. Want to ban "assault weapons"? Unless you've got evidence of a widespread historical law governing acceptable accessories for muskets (as AWB laws are based on such "features"), you're SOL, no matter how much you whine on behalf of the children. Want to restrict magazine capacity? Unless you've got an 18th century example of a commonly applied law limiting the amount of powder and shot a person could carry on them, FOAD. Microstamping? Waiting periods? California's handgun registry? LOLOLOLOL.

Basically, this ruling just killed gun control in the US, it's all over but the lawsuits to mop it up.


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ASPartOfMe
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24 Jun 2022, 2:17 am

Dox47 wrote:
Your headline is incorrect, it wasn't open carry that was at issue but rather the "may issue" system in use in NY that allowed them to pick and choose who got concealed carry permits vs a simple qualification, as is commonly used in "shall issue" states, which are the majority.

That's actually the least important part of the ruling though, the (very) big deal is that the courts are no longer allowed to use a 2 part test in determining whether or not a law infringes the 2nd Amendment, they now have to use what is called a text, history, and tradition analysis, which is going to allow almost all modern gun control to be challenged and rolled back. Want to ban "assault weapons"? Unless you've got evidence of a widespread historical law governing acceptable accessories for muskets (as AWB laws are based on such "features"), you're SOL, no matter how much you whine on behalf of the children. Want to restrict magazine capacity? Unless you've got an 18th century example of a commonly applied law limiting the amount of powder and shot a person could carry on them, FOAD. Microstamping? Waiting periods? California's handgun registry? LOLOLOLOL.

Basically, this ruling just killed gun control in the US, it's all over but the lawsuits to mop it up.

Thanks for the correction.


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Texasmoneyman300
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24 Jun 2022, 3:57 am

Dox47 wrote:
Your headline is incorrect, it wasn't open carry that was at issue but rather the "may issue" system in use in NY that allowed them to pick and choose who got concealed carry permits vs a simple qualification, as is commonly used in "shall issue" states, which are the majority.

That's actually the least important part of the ruling though, the (very) big deal is that the courts are no longer allowed to use a 2 part test in determining whether or not a law infringes the 2nd Amendment, they now have to use what is called a text, history, and tradition analysis, which is going to allow almost all modern gun control to be challenged and rolled back. Want to ban "assault weapons"? Unless you've got evidence of a widespread historical law governing acceptable accessories for muskets (as AWB laws are based on such "features"), you're SOL, no matter how much you whine on behalf of the children. Want to restrict magazine capacity? Unless you've got an 18th century example of a commonly applied law limiting the amount of powder and shot a person could carry on them, FOAD. Microstamping? Waiting periods? California's handgun registry? LOLOLOLOL.

Basically, this ruling just killed gun control in the US, it's all over but the lawsuits to mop it up.

I think America will always have the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the NICS background check system so I dont think it killed gun contr.ol for the most part.I think America will always have gun control.There's no way all gun control will get overturned in any of our lifetimes.