Supreme Court Strikes Down Gun Law
Breaking news for the Second Amendment: The Supreme Court just issued a 6-3 opinion in the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association. v. Bruen.
At issue is New York's "proper cause requirement" which forces applicants to prove "a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community" in order "to obtain an unrestricted license to 'have and carry' a concealed 'pistol or revolver'."
The opinion ruled that the requirement "violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense."
ACLJ Senior Military Analyst Colonel Wes Smith explained why this is a victory that strikes down an unfair, ill-conceived regulation:
The New York law catered to an elitist mentality often exhibited by the Left, where the rich and the famous can get a permit to defend themselves and carry a gun even though they live in some of the best neighborhoods, but a restaurant worker who lives in a high crime neighborhood cannot get a permit to carry a gun. Besides that, this law in New York was very subjective. In each county the official that was charged with granting or denying the application for a permit, the criteria was very, very vague as to who gets a permit and who does not. And so it was really up to the local officials which was very subjective and unfair to the average citizen and I’m glad the court held the way it did.
It seems that the vagueness of the New York law was its undoing. And that’s especially significant as at the time of this writing, just across the street from the Supreme Court, Congress is voting on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act which we reported on just yesterday.
The bill includes several new provisions to regulate the purchase and ownership of firearms in the United States. Some of those provisions relate specifically to school, which my dad, ACLJ Senior Counsel Jay Sekulow and I believe are very important in order to “harden the target.” But some of these provisions in this new bill are a bit vague, and given last night’s ruling, they might fail under the same scrutiny.
ACLJ Senior Counsel Andy Ekonomou concurred:
They are now debating this Safer Communities Act that is supposedly bipartisan in orientation, but now that this decision has just come from the Supreme Court of the United States in a 6-3 ruling opinion by Justice Thomas, that’s going to affect very seriously the language that’s contained in this legislation that is pending before Congress, because the language of that bill is going to have to take into account the opinion of the Supreme Court today.
I do believe this was a significant victory for the Second Amendment. Especially now at a time when people are concerned about gun rights and restrictions being put in place that may be unconstitutional. As I stated yesterday, I am in favor of commonsense, and constitutional gun requirements. The Supreme Court ruled that every citizen has the constitutionally-protected right to own and carry a firearm for protection.
This should send a very clear message to Congress as they debate new gun regulations, and that is a big deal, and a win for legal gun ownership.
Col. Smith echoed my belief that this opinion is a victory for advocates of the Second Amendment:
The Second Amendment, properly interpreted, it allows for common sense gun regulation. The gun control fanatics will say this is horrible. But really, properly interpreted, there are regulations you can put on it but a citizen does not have to give a reason for exercising their constitutional right.
Today’s full Sekulow broadcast includes even more in-depth analysis of this Supreme Court victory. We were also joined live by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) to discuss the recent attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers by extreme abortion advocates, and why the Biden Administration and the Left have been so silent about them.
Watch the full broadcast below: