Supreme Court Agrees to Hear New York Concealed Carry Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Corlett., a case about a law in New York that restricts law-abiding residents from carrying handguns outside their homes for self-defense. The lawsuit is backed by the National Rifle Association.

New York requires residents who seek to carry a concealed handgun to show a “proper cause” to do so, unlike other states where the desire to exercise the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is a proper cause.

Two New York residents received permits to carry guns outside their homes for hunting and targeting practice, but the state rejected their request to carry handguns outside their homes for self-defense. California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island also restrict the right to carry.

Cam Edwards at Bearing Arms wrote about the frustration gun-rights advocates felt after the Supreme Court, with its supposedly pro-Second Amendment majority, turned down cases where plaintiffs alleged gun-rights violations:

Besides New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Corlett, the Court also had the chance to weigh in on another case dealing with a prohibited person seeking to regain their rights. Unlike last week, when justices turned away three cases dealing with non-violent felons hoping to have their rights restored, this week the justices considered a case in which a man who was involuntarily committed more than 20 years ago when he was 17-years old is trying to get his right to keep and bear arms returned to him.
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That case was denied cert by the Court today, which is disappointing…

Gun-rights advocates might be hopeful of a victory in Rifle & Pistol Association, but we’ve seen the “conservative” Supreme Court hand down some un-conservative decisions. If the plaintiffs lose, the high court could set a precedent for certain states and local governments to keep concealed carry restrictions or even rescind more permissive carry laws, citing the “law of the land” decision.

The Supreme Court ruled (or affirmed, as gun-rights advocates see it) in D.C. v. Heller in 2008 that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was an individual right, striking down the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975. The District of Columbia’s city council banned handgun ownership for residents unless the guns were registered before 1976, and these owners had to keep their weapons unloaded and disassembled in their homes. After the court struck down the ban, D.C. required residents to have a “good reason” to carry handguns. A federal court struck down the “good reason” restriction.

Photo credit: Tamara Evans (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved