Supreme Court strikes down restrictive New York gun law

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a restrictive New York gun law in a major ruling for gun rights.

The justices’ 6-3 decision is expected to ultimately 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. About a quarter of the U.S. population lives in states expected to be affected by the ruling, the high court’s first major gun decision in more than a decade.

The ruling comes as Congress is actively working on gun legislation following recent mass shootings in Texas, New York and California.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority that the Constitution protects "an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home."

In their decision, the justices struck down a New York law requiring people to demonstrate a particular need for carrying a gun in order to get a license to carry one in public. The justices said the requirement violates the Second Amendment right to "keep and bear arms."

California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island all have similar laws. The Biden administration had urged the justices to uphold New York’s law.

In a dissent joined by his liberal colleagues, Justice Stephen Breyer focused on the toll taken by gun violence. "Since the start of this year alone (2022), there have already been 277 reported mass shootings—an average of more than one per day," Breyer wrote.

Backers of New York’s law had argued that striking it down would ultimately lead to more guns on the streets and higher rates of violent crime. The decision comes at a time when gun violence already on the rise during the coronavirus pandemic has spiked anew.

In most of the country gun owners have little difficulty legally carrying their weapons in public. But that had been harder to do in New York and the handful of states with similar laws. New York’s law, which has been in place since 1913, says that to carry a concealed handgun in public, a person applying for a license has to show "proper cause," a specific need to carry the weapon.

The state issues unrestricted licenses where a person can carry their gun anywhere and restricted licenses that allow a person to carry the weapon but just for specific purposes such as hunting and target shooting or to and from their place of business.

The Supreme Court last issued a major gun decision in 2010. In that decision and a ruling from 2008 the justices established a nationwide right to keep a gun at home for self-defense. The question for the court this time was about carrying one outside the home.

Meantime, Gov. Hochul reacted to the decision from New York City, where she was signing a law to strengthen school safety.

"The Supreme Court of the United States of America has stripped away the state of New York’s right and responsibility to protect its citizens," said Hochul. "This could place millions of New Yorkers in harm’s way."

New York’s members of Congress reacted to Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik applauded the ruling and said it "correctly declares New York’s shameful attempt to shred Second Amendment rights of New Yorkers unconstitutional.” Stefanik is a Republican and staunch ally of former President Donald Trump,

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called the ruling "irresponsible” and "downright dangerous.”

"Our nation is in the middle of a gun violence epidemic and instead of working to protect our communities, this court has made it even easier for potentially dangerous people to carry concealed handguns in public spaces,” the Democrat said.

NewsChannel 13 is following this story. We will have full updates starting on NewsChannel 13 Live at 4, and on WNYT.com this afternoon.

READ THE RULING HERE