
Major Gun Rights Case to be Decided by the Supreme Court
For the first time in nearly a decade, a now-solidly conservative Supreme Court will take up the issue of our nation’s Second Amendment rights. This Tuesday, the court announced that it will hear a challenge to New York City’s extreme gun laws, which prohibit individuals from carrying licensed, locked, unleaded handguns outside the city limits. The law, which is both bizarrely-strict and illogical, allows New Yorkers to take properly-licensed guns to ranges within the city. But for some reason, those laws do not permit residents to take them to gun ranges outside New York city limits.
The law has been challenged by three New York residents who have teamed up with an affiliate of the National Rifle Association. They are represented by attorney Paul Clement, who has dedicated much of his practice to defending the Second Amendment. Long pushing the Supreme Court to reaffirm and expand their decisions on the constitutional right to bear arms, Clement said this case provides a golden opportunity for them to do so.
“This case,” Clement said, “is a perfect vehicle to reaffirm that those decisions and the constitutional text have consequences.”
Clements has momentum on his side. Not only do we have the most constitutionally-oriented Supreme Court of modern times, but 17 states have asked the Supreme Court to use this case as an opportunity to refine and define the state of gun rights in America today. This is important because at a time when previous court decisions have been clear and concise, they have not prevented places like New York City, Washington, D.C., Washington State, and others to impose harsh gun control laws that would appear to violate the spirit – if not the letter – of those rulings.
“The nine justices will review a 2018 lower court ruling upholding the city’s restrictions after three gun owners and the NRA’s New York state affiliate sued claiming the regulations imposed in the largest American city violated the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment right to ‘keep and bear arms,’” reported Reuters.
“The issue in the case seems small, but the implications could be tremendous,” UCLA Law professor Adam Winkler told reporters.
Put plainly, any time our gun rights are challenged by rabid Democrats, the implications of a legal fight can be tremendous. That’s because every move the left makes against guns puts us on an unbelievably slippery slope that could lead to complete and total disarmament – which is exactly what they want. Here’s hoping that our Supreme Court proves its mettle and its commitment to the Constitution when they rule in this case.