Supreme Court Weighs Constitutionality of Concealed Carry Law
Can states stop law-abiding citizens from carrying guns outside their homes for self-defense unless they can satisfy the authorities that they have a good reason for doing so?
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Concealed carry holster. photo by 22860 via Flickr
The Supreme Court will soon hear arguments on a New York law that imposes strict limits on carrying guns outside the home, marking the first time the nation’s highest court has considered a major Second Amendment decision in more than a decade, reports the New York Times.
The court agreed to hear the New York case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, No. 20-843, and to answer this question: “whether the state’s denial of petitioners’ applications for concealed-carry licenses for self-defense violated the Second Amendment.”
The law was challenged by Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, who were denied licenses to carry handguns at all times. They were authorized to carry them for target practice and hunting away from populated areas, state officials told the Supreme Court, and Mr. Koch was allowed to carry a gun to and from work.
California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island have laws similar to the one in New York.
When the Supreme Court established an individual right to own guns in 2008 by a 5-to-4 vote in District of Columbia v. Heller, it addressed only the right to keep firearms in the home for self-defense. At the same time, it indicated that many kinds of gun regulations are permissible.
The court’s only other Second Amendment case since then, McDonald v. Chicago in 2010, extended the Heller decision, which concerned federal gun laws, to state and local ones.
