The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Constitution also grants the right to bear arms outside the home, in public places, issuing an important decision on the meaning of the Second Amendment.
The ruling has implications for what can and can't be done on guns and may frame the extent to which state and local governments can enforce gun control regulations.
It comes amid a heated debate in the country around the issue after two shootings, one in Buffalo (New York) and another in Uvalde (Texas), which killed a total of 31 people, including 19 school children.
In Congress, the massacres prompted debate on a bipartisan law to prevent gun violence with regulations on purchase and possession, which, if passed, would be the most significant federal action on the issue in nearly 30 years.
These are the changes brought about by the Supreme Court ruling and what is estimated to happen in the coming months.
Weapons outside and inside the house
In a landmark 2008 decision, the court had ruled that the Second Amendment safeguards a person's right to own firearms, but the decision was limited to keeping them in the home for self-defense.
It has now expanded the right by stating that it also protects the right to bear arms outside the home, issuing an opinion in a case brought by a New York law more than 100 years old.
A customer waits to try out a handgun at the Full Armor Firearms store in Houston, Texas, on June 17, 2021. MARK FELIX / AFP /AFP via Getty Images
New York law prohibits openly carrying firearms in public spaces, but allows residents to apply for a license to do so concealed.
For this they should show some special need.
The justices ruled by six votes in favor of the conservative majority (and three against the progressives) that the law was too restrictive, and annulled this requirement.
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the Second Amendment does not distinguish between home and public space "with respect to the right to keep and bear arms."
When does it start to rule?
Officials have stressed that change will not happen overnight and that there will be time for everyone to acclimate.
“
If you carry a weapon illegally in New York City you will be arrested
,” Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said Thursday.
[“They Tear a Body to Pieces”: Funeral Home Workers Describe the Devastation Left by Assault Rifles]
The judicial process is that the decision of the Supreme Court is sent to the lower courts, where the case began, and there usually a grace period is given to state officials to adapt to the change, instead of repealing the law immediately. experts indicate.
No more requirements and controls?
Not precisely.
In a concurring opinion of the ruling, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said it does not prevent states from imposing license requirements to carry firearms in self-defense, such as
fingerprinting, background checks and mental health record checks
.
New York's law was "problematic because it gives unlimited discretion to licensing officials and authorizes licenses only to those applicants who can demonstrate some special need other than self-defense," effectively denying citizens the right to carry a weapon to protect himself, the magistrate said.
The law that struck down the Supreme Court was over 100 years old.
This is how this judgment was reached.
June 23, 202202:03
The impact on other states
All states allow concealed carry in public, but a score like New York require some authorization or permit process, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
There are eight states that require a person to "show good cause or special need," often referred to as "just cause," according to EveryTown data, giving local officials more discretion in denying requests.
These include California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, as well as the District of Columbia.
According to the non-profit organization that works for gun control, about 25% of the US population lives in states with this type of requirement.
These laws may be immediately and successfully challenged in some of these states with this Supreme Court ruling.
The Thursdays of these states will have to decide whether to grant a grace period for the approval of new laws and regulations.
Schools and other “sensitive” places
The sentence also recognizes that the jurisprudence has “established” that there are spaces that are “'sensitive places' where the carrying of weapons could be prohibited in accordance with the Second Amendment”.
In this sense, it is expected that states and cities can establish restrictions in "sensitive places", such as schools, government buildings, courthouses and polling places.
Mothers of Uvalde demand that politicians act on weapons and stop "talking and talking"
June 22, 202202:04
The May 24 massacre that killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States so far this year.
It came just 10 days after 10 people were shot to death at a supermarket in Buffalo.
At least 246 such shootings, defined as one in which four or more people were killed or injured, have occurred in the country as of early June, according to data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.
Fear of more armed crime
Officials and members of the security forces have warned that the decision may lead to easier access to weapons in cities that are struggling with the increase in armed crime.
“It keeps me up at night,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said of the New York law being struck down.
So far this year, New York police have removed more than 3,000 guns from the streets.
When the ruling became known, Adams said in a statement that he would take action as soon as possible to mitigate the risks of further gun violence: "
We cannot allow New York to become the Wild West
."
If more New Yorkers are armed, what would otherwise have been minor clashes could turn deadly, Richard Aborn, chairman of the Citizens Crime Commission, warned The New York Times.
Why do some celebrate?
Pro-gun groups hail the decision as
an important and hard-won victory
.
"The right to self-defense and to defend your family and loved ones should not end at home," NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said in a statement.
"New York's egregious law, which left its residents' rights of self-defense to the whim of a government bureaucrat, has been declared unconstitutional and must be changed," said Jason Ouimet, executive director of the New York Institute for Legislative Action. the NRA.
[It is not true that the arms industry has total immunity for the destruction caused by its weapons]
Pro-gun activist celebrates the Supreme Court ruling because it puts their personal defense "in the hands" of the people
June 23, 202202:18
The upcoming court battle
Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco, the Justice Department's number two official, predicted the New York decision "will generate a great deal of litigation" from gun rights advocates seeking to roll back state and federal restrictions on guns. the whole country.
On the other side, those seeking greater gun control will put up a fight.
“We are closely reviewing our options, including calling a special session of the legislature,” New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said following the Supreme Court decision.
Background check and more
Debate on gun control reform is still pending in Congress, Legislation includes state funding to enforce “red flag” laws and improved background checks for young Americans ages 18 to 21, opening the door to access juvenile records.
It would also clarify which sellers must register as firearms licensees, requiring them to conduct background checks on potential buyers.
And it toughens the penalties for arms trafficking and fictitious purchases.
It was also agreed to address the legal loophole in limiting gun rights for non-spouses who are convicted of domestic abuse.
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“Unless someone is convicted of domestic abuse under the laws of their state, their gun rights will not be affected,” said Texas Republican John Cornyn on the Senate floor as he introduced the final text.
“Those who are convicted of a misdemeanor non-spousal domestic abuse – not a felony, but a misdemeanor domestic violence – will have the opportunity, after five years, to regain their Second Amendment rights.
But they have to have a clean record,” he explained.
In the Senate, the bipartisan deal garnered enough Republican support Tuesday to clear a procedural hurdle, raising the odds the measure could pass there.
Then, it must go to the House of Representatives, where the Democrats have a majority, and be signed by the president, Joe Biden, to become law.