The Supreme Court of the United States on Wednesday heard oral arguments in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, a case involving a 108-year-old handgun-licensing law, reported Jurist.
The law requires any person who desires a license to
carry a concealed handgun to show “proper cause” for the license. According to
New York courts, “proper cause” is defined as an applicant showing a special
need to defend themselves, rather than simply wanting to protect themselves or
their property.
The case was brought by a New York gun-rights
advocacy group, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, and two men
whose applications for unrestricted concealed-carry licenses were denied. The
group and men’s lawyer told the Justices that the text of the Second Amendment
“enshrines a right to bear arms” and the history and tradition of the United
States confirm that the text protects an individual right to carry a gun for
self-defense. “Carry a gun outside the home is a fundamental right that people
in 43 other states enjoy.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor pushed back on these
statements citing “the plethora of regimes” that legislatures have chosen with
regard to the carrying of weapons, from “English law through the colonies . . .
to even now.” Justice Sotomayor stressed that “there were so many different
regulations” and she was wary about the notion that history confirms what the
defense is arguing. However, Justice Brett Kavanaugh stressed that the question
before the court did not relate to the plethora of regimes Justice Sotomayor
contends and is limited to the constitutionality of the New York permitting
regime. If the only question before the court was the constitutionality of the
permitting regime, Kavanaugh said the court would not need to address “all of
the ‘sensitive places’ questions.”
The solicitor general of New York, Barbara
Underwood, argued that English and American laws have limited the carrying of
guns in public for the protection of public safety for centuries. She stated
that the New York law was well within the tradition of regulating public carry
and rejected the defense’s argument stating history and tradition show
otherwise. The principal deputy solicitor general of the United States, Brian Fletcher,
emphasized the history of gun regulations is not as one-sided as the defense
made it seem. Fletcher listed various 19th-century state laws that he
characterized as analogous to the New York law.
A decision in the case is expected by Summer of 2022.
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