The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 opinion along ideological lines, ruled that New York’s restrictions on the concealed carry of firearms in public violates the Second Amendment.
The opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, invalidates the state’s requirement for people to show “proper cause” to get public carry licenses.
Writing for the conservative majority, Justice Thomas said: “The exercise of other constitutional rights does not require individuals to demonstrate to government officers some special need. The Second Amendment right to carry arms in public for self-defense is no different. New York’s proper-cause requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their right to keep and bear arms in public.”
In dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the court’s liberals, said: “In applying that approach to New York’s law, the Court fails to correctly identify and analyze the relevant historical facts. Only by ignoring an abundance of historical evidence supporting regulations restricting the public carriage of firearms can the Court conclude that New York’s law is not “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
