The ruling comes as Congress is actively working on gun legislation following recent mass shootings in Texas, New York and California.
Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that Americans had the right to carry firearms in public, a significant extension of gun rights.
Following a number of recent major shootings, the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling is anticipated to enable more individuals to legally carry firearms in the nation’s largest cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Boston, and elsewhere. About a fifth of the U.S. population resides in states that are anticipated to be impacted by the case, the first significant gun decision by the Supreme Court in more than a decade.
As a result of recent mass shootings in Texas, New York, and California, Congress is currently aggressively working on gun reform.
For the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the Constitution protects “an individual’s right to carry a pistol outside the home for self-defense.”
In their ruling, the court invalidated a New York statute requiring applicants for a licence to carry a firearm in public to establish a specific reason for doing so. The court ruled that the regulation violates the freedom to “keep and bear weapons” under the Second Amendment.
Similar statutes exist in California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. The Biden administration asked the court to maintain the statute of New York.
In a dissenting opinion he shared with his liberal colleagues, Justice Stephen Breyer emphasised the toll of gun violence. Justice Breyer observed, “Since the beginning of this year alone (2022), there have been 277 documented mass shootings, an average of more than one per day.”
Proponents of the New York statute said that knocking it down will ultimately result in more firearms on the streets and a rise in violent crime rates. The decision is made at a time when gun violence, which was already on the increase during the coronavirus outbreak, has escalated further.
In the majority of the United States, it is quite easy for gun owners to lawfully carry their firearms in public. However, this was more difficult in New York and the few other states with comparable statutes. The legislation, which has been in effect in New York since 1913, states that a person requesting for a licence to carry a concealed firearm in public must demonstrate “due cause,” or a specific necessity to carry the weapon.
The state grants unrestricted permits that enable a person to carry a firearm anywhere, as well as limited licences that allow a person to carry a firearm only for certain activities, such as hunting and target shooting, or to and from their place of business.
In 2010, the Supreme Court announced its final important gun judgement. In this and a 2008 decision, the Supreme Court recognised a countrywide right to keep a firearm for self-defense. This time, the court was asked about carrying a firearm outside the home.
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