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This week, the court heard arguments over a dispute about whether New York’s law violates the Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms” in public and the line of questioning by some justices indicated some skepticism about the law.
The petitioners in the case are Robert Nash, Brandon Koch, and the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, who are being represented by former solicitor general Paul Clement.
Both Nash and Koch have passed the required background checks and obtained licenses to carry guns for hunting and target practice, but they have not been able to establish a special need for self-defense to carry in public, prompting the lawsuit, which has made it to the country's highest court.
Currently, the law requires an individual to show “proper cause” before obtaining a license to carry in the general public, which is being questioned by the Conservative-heavy Supreme Court justices.
In most of the country, gun owners have little difficulty legally carrying their weapons when they go out, but several states, including California, New York, and some other Northeastern states restrict who can carry to only those with a specific need to do so.
This marks the first major question of Second Amendment rights in more than a decade, with the last case concerning federal, state, and local gun laws that were brought up in Chicago in 2010.
Since then, lower courts have generally been tasked with sustaining gun control laws.
According to multiple reports, those challenging New York’s law are arguing that it is out of step from other states’ views on the Second Amendment, while the defense has largely laid on a long tradition of limiting gun possession in public.
During their discussions, the justices did advise that some restrictions would be acceptable in sensitive areas such as schools, and the subway, though they argued that the current mandates are too broad.
It is widely expected that the high court is going to strike down the law and rule that the constitutional right to “keep and bear arms" precludes states from insisting that individuals show “proper cause” before being licensed to carry a gun for self-defense.
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