Supreme Court Strikes Down New York Gun Law

The Supreme Court has struck down a New York gun law in a ruling expected to directly impact half a dozen other populous states.

The justices’ 6-3 decision is expected to allow more people to legally carry guns on the streets of the nation’s largest cities — including New York, Los Angeles and Boston — and elsewhere.

In his dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote.

“The primary difference between the Court’s view and mine is that I believe the Amendment allows States to take account of the serious problems posed by gun violence that I have just described,” Breyer wrote. “I fear that the Court’s interpretation ignores these significant dangers and leaves States without the ability to address them.”

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote: “Only if a firearm regulation is consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition may a court conclude that the individual’s conduct falls outside the Second Amendment’s unqualified command.

“It is true that people sometimes congregate in ‘sensitive places,’ and it is likewise true that law enforcement professionals are usually presumptively available in those locations. But expanding the category of “sensitive places” simply to all places of public congregation that are not isolated from law enforcement defines the category of ‘sensitive places’ far too broadly,” Thomas wrote.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul accused the US Supreme Court of recklessness in striking down the state law that limits those who can carry concealed weapons.