The Breitbart News reported on April 26 that the Supreme Court announced Monday that it will rule on whether the Second Amendment requires states to issue permits to law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons.
The Second Amendment protects the “right to keep and bear arms. The Supreme Court held in the landmark 2008 decision District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment guarantees this right to private citizens. In its 2010 follow-up case, McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Court held that the right to bear arms applies equally in state and local government contexts.
Both cases fall under the category of law-abiding citizens who want to keep a handgun in their homes for personal protection, which may be the absolute bottom line that the Second Amendment may provide. The ability to carry a weapon when out and about is left to be decided in subsequent cases.
Currently, most states offer concealed carry permits to all qualified applicants. However, a few states require that concealed carry permits be granted only to special populations such as those who have been abused by an ex-spouse, or prosecutors who fear retaliation by criminals. New York State has such a restriction.
On Monday, in a constitutional challenge to the New York law, petitioners argued that the Second Amendment, which allows them to get a concealed carry permit simply for ordinary self-defense reasons, was granted review by the high court justices.
Second Amendment supporters have been trying to get the high court to consider the issue for more than a decade, but have been rebuffed by the high court. This time, for the first time since Justice Amy Coney Barrett succeeded the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the high court considered a major petition on the Second Amendment. Apparently, supporters of the Second Amendment, now backed by at least four justices, granted review, and it’s unclear whether they’ll end up with, in the end, the five votes needed to win.
Experts suspect that moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy and moderate conservative Chief Justice John Roberts will be the reason pro-gun supporters don’t have enough votes to resolve the issue.
Paul Clement, a former U.S. Solicitor General, who is representing one side of the challenge, has appeared in the Heller and McDonald cases and is considered one of the top litigators in the United States on the issue.
The Biden administration has not yet commented on the case. The case will likely be argued late this year, with a ruling expected in June 2022.
The case is New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Corlett, U.S. Supreme Court Case No. 20-843.
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