Supreme Court strikes down New York’s handgun law

The Senate on Thursday passed a bipartisan bill to address gun violence that amounts to the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades.?

With 15 Republicans joining Democrats to support the bill, its passage represents a significant bipartisan breakthrough. The final vote was 65 to 33.

The bill will next go to the House for a vote before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

The legislation includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

For more than a decade, individual?Supreme Court?conservatives lamented lower court decisions that endorsed gun regulations, as their own court failed to expand a 2008 ruling that said the Second Amendment protects a right to a handgun in the home for self-defense.

One of the strongest dissenters was Justice?Clarence Thomas, who in 2020 declared, “It is extremely improbable that the Framers understood the Second Amendment to protect little more than carrying a gun from the bedroom to the kitchen.”

But the new conservative supermajority has changed everything for America, and on Thursday Thomas wrote the 6-3 decision broadening prior interpretations of the Second Amendment right “to keep and bear arms.”

Thomas wrote that the definition of “bear naturally encompasses public carry. Most gun owners do not wear a holstered pistol at their hip in their bedroom or while sitting at the dinner table. Although individuals often ‘keep’ firearms in their home, at the ready for self-defense, most do not ‘bear’ them in the home beyond moments of actual confrontation.”

This is the first time the justices declared a right to carry a weapon outside the home and, significantly for future cases, transformed the legal framework that most lower courts had adopted when reviewing gun laws.

Thursday’s ruling underscores the character of the contemporary court, which is often at odds with public opinion and in conflict with its predecessor courts, when centrist conservatives controlled the center and prevented the bench from pitching too far right.

Whether gun restrictions can stand, Thomas wrote, must be measured by the nation’s history, not by a state’s assertion of urgent public safety interests. He said the Second Amendment “requires courts to assess whether modern firearms regulations are consistent with the Second Amendment’s text and historical understanding.”

The decision striking down a New York licensing restriction is certain to open the door to more challenges to gun regulations, as the country confronts a new series of mass shootings, including at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and?Congress is considering new firearms restrictions.

Led by senior liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, the dissenters referred to the 21 people dead from the Uvalde tragedy and the 10 who were killed a few days earlier in May at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket.

The dissenters insisted that Thomas’ new test goes further than what the court’s 2008 landmark demanded, and they observed at one point that “firearms in public present a number of dangers, ranging from mass shootings to road rage killings, and are responsible for many deaths and injuries in the United States.”

Justice Samuel Alito,?who like Thomas has been pushing for greater gun rights for years, joined the majority yet wrote a separate statement that dismissed Breyer’s list of mass shootings: “(H)ow does the dissent account for the fact that one of the mass shootings near the top of its list took place in Buffalo? The New York law at issue in this case obviously did not stop that perpetrator.”

Overall, Thursday’s ruling underscored the power dynamic on today’s 6-3 conservative-liberal bench. The appointment in 2020 of Justice?Amy Coney Barrett, who had complained as a federal appeals court judge that the Second Amendment appeared to be “a second-class right,” helped lock in Thursday’s decision.

The decision was signed by all three appointees of former president Donald Trump (Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh), along with Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts, both appointees of President George W. Bush.

Thomas, a 1991 appointee of President George H.W. Bush, is the longest serving member of the current bench. He turned 74 on Thursday.

The justices are in the final days of their current session, and among the awaited cases are those testing the future of abortion rights and a church-state clash involving a public school football coach who prayed after games at midfield. The conservative wing is likely to control those rulings, too.

Read more here.

President Joe Biden responded Thursday to a Supreme Court ruling striking down a New York gun law placing restrictions on carrying a concealed handgun outside the home, calling the ruling, which marks the widest expansion of gun rights in a decade, telling reporters, “I think it’s a bad decision.”?

“Not good enough, but I think it’s a bad decision, I think it’s not reasoned accurately, but I’m disappointed.?

In a paper statement released earlier Thursday, Biden said he was “deeply disappointed,” in the ruling, warning, following horrific shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, “we must do more as a society — not less — to protect our fellow Americans.”

Democrats and Republicans haggled Thursday afternoon over scheduling votes on a package of amendments to the gun violence legislation as leaders work for an expedited vote for final passage, possibly later on Thursday.?

Earlier today, the bipartisan gun safety bill moved one step closer to final passage in the Senate after a critical vote succeeded in advancing the measure with Republican support. The vote came just after the Supreme Court handed down its ruling on New York’s gun law.

Now, a handful of Republicans – including Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas – are pressing for their amendments to be considered.?

Democrats have expressed a willingness to allow some votes – knowing that they will likely fail – in return for moving quickly to a vote on final passage, but they don’t have a resolution yet.???

The Senate will leave for a two-week recess after this vote, putting pressure on lawmakers to reach a deal and catch their flights home tonight.??

Emerging from a lengthy GOP caucus lunch where the issues were discussed, Senate Republican whip John Thune told reporters things are “still murky” and said they would likely “clarify” in the next few hours but “right now there is a lot of swirl.”

“People are interested in seeing votes on their amendments, but I think everybody realizes it’s not going to change the outcome,” he said.??

If no agreement is reached, the procedural clock will run out about 6pm Friday and the final vote will take place without votes on any amendments.??

“Stay tuned,” is all Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell would say as he left the lunch and was asked when a final vote will take place on the bill that he supports.??

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown leaves the funeral of Aaron Salter Jr. in Buffalo, New York on May 25. Salter was the security guard and former police officer who was killed during the mass shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo.?

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said he was “disappointed and alarmed” over the US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a New York gun law that places restrictions on carrying a concealed gun outside the home.

In a statement Thursday, Brown said, “I am disappointed and alarmed that the Supreme Court overturned New York’s Concealed Carry Gun Permit Law, at a time when Congress is actively working on gun reform legislation following the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, Texas, Oklahoma, California, and Pennsylvania.”

The mayor added, “The City of Buffalo continues to mourn the loss of 10 innocent members of our community at the hands of a mass murderer motivated by racism and hate.?Unfortunately, today’s decision will eventually lead to more concealed weapons to be carried on the streets of Buffalo and America, rather than taking additional steps toward sensible gun reform. American families impacted by gun violence everywhere deserve action to prevent tragedies, including the one we experienced in Buffalo, from ever happening again.”??

Alleged mass shooter?Payton S. Gendron faces multiple federal hate crime charges carrying the potential of the death penalty in the killing of 10 Black people last month at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket. Gendron is being held on a slew of state criminal charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Following the shooting in Buffalo, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told CNN’s Dana Bash that the alleged shooter’s gun was?purchased legally?at a gun store in New York. The high-capacity magazine must have been purchased elsewhere, she said, because they are banned in New York.

New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell arrives for a news briefing in New York City on April 12.

New York City officials want to make it clear that “nothing has changed” in the state despite the US Supreme Court striking down the law that places restrictions on carrying a concealed handgun outside the home on Thursday.

“The important thing to know today is that nothing changes,” New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.

The case was returned to the lower court and is still in effect until it goes through the lower court process. In the meantime, Sewell said the NYPD is evaluating the permit process.

“We are taking a look at our policies our procedures and our licensing scheme as it stands now,” she said.?

Asked how the ruling may impact policing procedures, she said, “obviously we would look at the way we would do civilian encounters when people are allowed to carry if that came to pass but at this time nothing has changed and I want to make that clear.”

The Supreme Court striking down a New York concealed gun law is a “harmful and disturbing decision,” according to the president of the American Medical Association.

Doctors and other health care workers “are first-hand witnesses to the catastrophic fallout of firearm violence while caring for victims with devastating, life-threatening injuries that are preventable,” Resneck said. ?

He said the AMA will remain a “strong advocate” for firearm regulations.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, June 22.

Just after the Supreme Court handed down its ruling on New York’s gun law, a major bipartisan gun safety bill moved one step closer to final passage in the Senate on Thursday after a critical vote succeeded in advancing the measure with Republican support.

The legislation is now on a path to pass the Senate before the week is out — with the potential for a final vote to take place as early as later today.

The bipartisan gun deal?represents?the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades. It includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

It also makes significant changes to the process when someone ages 18 to 21 goes to buy a firearm and closes?the so-called boyfriend loophole, a victory for Democrats, who have long fought for that.

The package amounts to the most significant new federal legislation to address gun violence since the expired 10-year assault weapons ban of 1994 — though it fails to ban any weapons and falls far short of what Democrats and polls show most Americans want to see.

The critical vote on the federal gun safety bill came on the same day as the Supreme Court?struck down?a New York gun law enacted more than a century ago that places restrictions on carrying a concealed handgun outside the home.

The ruling highlights the conflicting political forces surrounding the issue at all levels of government, as the judicial branch implements the widest expansion of gun rights in a decade, happening right as the legislative branch appears on track to pass its most significant gun safety package in almost 30 years.

A critical vote that requires GOP support: Thursday’s vote was held to overcome a GOP?filibuster?and required 60 votes to succeed, meaning that at least 10 Republicans needed to join with Democrats to vote in favor.

That was expected to happen, however, after 14 Republicans voted to advance the bill in an initial vote Tuesday evening.

Now that the Senate has broken a filibuster, the bill is on track for a final passage vote.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called to pass the bill this week, though the exact timing of a final vote is still to be determined. A final Senate vote could come as early as Thursday if all 100 senators consent to a time agreement. It will take place at a simple majority threshold.

The House would next have to take up the bill before it can be signed into law. It is not yet clear how quickly the bill could move through both chambers, but if the Senate holds a final passage vote Thursday evening, the House could pass the measure soon after.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that if the Senate passes the gun safety bill on Thursday, the House will convene and pass it Thursday as well.

“We’ll try to do it today,” he said. “If they move it that quickly, we’ll get it done.”

Senate rules allow any one senator to slow down the process, and Schumer on Thursday called on Senate Republicans to work with Democrats to get the legislation passed “before the day is out.”

Read more here.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) during an event with President Joe Biden and several family members of victims of the Tops market shooting at the Delavan Grider Community Center on May 17 in Buffalo, New York.?

New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand railed against Thursday’s Supreme Court decision that struck down New York’s restrictions on concealed carry permits.

“This is the most far-reaching anti-common sense gun reform law in 15 years. It undermines common-sense laws from states that have very thoughtfully made decisions about how best to protect its citizens,” she said.?

“This is clearly an activist Supreme Court. We’ve seen a draft decision that intends to undermine Roe,?we have a decision undermining states’ rights where they want to protect its citizens,” Gillibrand said. “It’s an outrage and this is what Donald Trump intended: to stack the court with ultra, extreme conservative justices who are so far out of step with the American people.”

U.S. President Joe Biden during a meeting with members of the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride, on the South Lawn of the White House on June 23.

President Biden released a statement after the Supreme Court ruled to strike down a New York gun law that places restrictions on carrying a concealed gun outside the home, saying he is “deeply disappointed.”

“More than a century later, the United States Supreme Court has chosen to strike down New York’s long-established authority to protect its citizens. This ruling contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should deeply trouble us all,” Biden said.?“In the wake of the horrific attacks in Buffalo and Uvalde, as well as the daily acts of gun violence that do not make national headlines, we must do more as a society — not less — to protect our fellow Americans.”

He urged legislatures and “enact and enforce commonsense laws to make their citizens and communities safer from gun violence.”

Citing late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Biden said, “the Second Amendment is not absolute.”

“For centuries, states have regulated who may purchase or possess weapons, the types of weapons they may use, and the places they may carry those weapons. And the courts have upheld these regulations,” he continued. “I call on Americans across the country to make their voices heard on gun safety. Lives are on the line.”

New York Mayor Eric Adams joins people as they march across the Brooklyn Bridge to protest against gun violence in the 'March for Our Lives' march and rally on June 11 in New York City.?

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the Supreme Court striking down a New York concealed gun law will put New Yorkers “at further risk of gun violence.”

In a statement, he vowed specific action to mitigate the risks he said the decision will create.

The city will review its approach to defining “sensitive locations” where carrying a gun is banned, as well as the application process, Adams wrote.

“One thing is certain: We will do whatever is in our power, using every resource available to ensure that the gains we’ve seen during this administration are not undone, to?make certain?New Yorkers are not put in further danger of gun violence. This decision may have opened an additional river feeding the sea of gun violence, but we will do everything we can to dam it,” he said.

The National Rifle Association said the Supreme Court striking down a New York concealed gun law is a “watershed win,” adding that the ruling upholds Americans’ rights to defend themselves.

“Today’s ruling is a watershed win for good men and women all across America and is the result of a decades-long fight the NRA has led,” the NRA’s Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said in a?statement.?“The right to self-defense and to defend your family and loved ones should not end at your home.”?

“This is a monumental win for NRA members and for gun owners across the country,” according to Jason Ouimet, executive director for the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “New York’s egregious law, which left its residents’ self-defense rights to the whim of a government bureaucrat, has been declared unconstitutional and must be changed. New Yorkers will soon be able to defend themselves outside of their homes without first having to prove that they have a sufficient “need” to exercise their fundamental rights.”?

The NRA vowed to continue fighting what it said are unconstitutional gun laws in America but noted “the importance of this case cannot be understated and today NRA members enjoy a well-deserved victory.”

People walk past the U.S. Supreme Court building on June 23 in Washington, DC.

The Legal Aid Society said the Supreme Court decision striking down a New York concealed gun law may be a step “toward ending arbitrary licensing standards” that have inhibited Black and brown gun ownership in New York.

“New York’s gun licensing regulations have been arbitrarily and discriminatorily applied, disproportionately ensnaring the people we represent, the majority of whom are from communities of color, in the criminal legal system,” the nonprofit said in a statement.?

“As lawmakers consider next steps in response to this decision, let us be abundantly clear: it would amount to a historic disservice to both public safety and the best interests of the New Yorkers for Albany to reproduce a regulatory scheme that perpetuates the same disparate outcomes yielded under the previous law or to further criminalize gun ownership.?Criminalization has never prevented violence and serves only to further marginalize and incarcerate people from BIPOC communities,” according to the nonprofit.

The Supreme Court ruling on guns Thursday is likely to lead to other challenges to gun safety laws across the country.?

“Beyond voiding the laws of the six states that, like New York, condition the right to carry in public on a discretionary judgment by state officials, the majority’s expansion of what the Second Amendment protects will have monumental ramifications far beyond carrying firearms in public — on everything from age restrictions to assault weapons bans to limits on high-capacity magazines,” Vladeck said.

The five other states that have similar regulations are California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey, which include some of the most densely populated cities in the country that also struggle with gun violence.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is seen during a press conference at the site of a shooting at the 36 St subway station in New York on April 12.

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

She calling Thursday’s ruling “outrageous,” especially during “a moment of national reckoning on gun violence.”

The governor went on to say that she is “closely reviewing our options – including calling a special session of the legislature.”

“Just as we swiftly passed nation-leading gun reform legislation, I will continue to do everything in my power to keep New Yorkers safe from gun violence,” she tweeted.

Hochul reiterated during a news conference that she is prepared to call the state legislature back into session.

Hochul said state legislators have already been alerted and they are currently looking at possible dates for a reconvening. She called the Supreme Court decision “frightful in its scope of how they are setting back this nation and our ability to protect our citizens” and “not what New Yorkers want.”

“As Governor of the State of New York, my number one priority is keeping New Yorkers safe.?But today the Supreme Court is sending us backwards in our efforts to protect families and prevent gun violence. And it’s particularly painful that this came down at this moment, when we’re still dealing with families in pain from mass shootings that have occurred – the loss of life, their beloved children and grandchildren,” Hochul said. “This could place millions of New Yorkers in harm’s way and this is at a time when we are still mourning the loss of lives.”?

Hochul also said that governors have a “moral responsibility” to protect their citizens and that states “should have the right of determination of what we want to do in terms of our gun laws in our state.”

The governor said she was “sorry this dark day has come” but stated that “we’ve been ready for this. We feared this day would come and it came.”?

Apart from today’s ruling on guns, the Supreme Court released three other opinions today. Here’s what they are about:

GOP lawmakers can intervene to defend North Carolina voter ID law, Supreme Court rules

Two Republican leaders of North Carolina’s legislature could step in to defend the state’s voter ID law even though the state’s attorney general, a Democrat, is already doing so, the Supreme Court said.

The opinion will make it easier for other state government officials to intervene in some instances in lawsuits when the state government is divided.?

Supreme Court makes it easier for death row inmates to challenge method of execution?

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a death row inmate in Georgia who is challenging the state’s lethal injection protocol and seeks to die by firing squad — a method currently not authorized in the state.?

The court said the inmate could bring the challenge under a federal civil rights law that allows individuals to seek remedies when their Constitutional rights are violated. The decision could make it easier for inmates to challenge their potential execution method.?

Supreme Court limits ability to enforce Miranda rights?

The court limited the ability to enforce Miranda rights in a ruling that said?suspects who are not warned about their right to remain silent cannot sue a police officer for damages under federal civil rights law even if the evidence was ultimately used against them in their criminal trial.

The ruling will cut back on an individual’s protections against self-incrimination by barring the potential to obtain damages. It also means that the failure to administer the warning will not expose a law enforcement officer to potential damages in a civil lawsuit. It will not impact, however, the exclusion of such evidence at a criminal trial.??

The court clarified that while the Miranda warning protects a constitutional right, the warning itself is not a right that would trigger the ability to bring a civil lawsuit.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during an event in New York in April.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Thursday’s Supreme Court decision “severely undermines public safety not just in New York City, but around the country.”

Bragg said his office is “analyzing” the ruling and crafting gun safety legislation that will take steps to “mitigate the damage done today.”?

“Furthermore, we have already built detailed processes and put them in place to manage any litigation related to our ongoing cases. The Supreme Court may have made our work harder, but we will only redouble our efforts to develop new solutions to end the epidemic of gun violence and ensure lasting public safety,” he added.

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a New York gun law that places restrictions on carrying a concealed gun outside the home, marking the widest expansion of gun rights in a decade.

The courts decision was 6-3.

These are the six justices who supported the majority opinion:

And these are the three justices who dissented:

The Supreme Court?struck down a New York concealed gun law, loosening US gun laws as the country faces a rash of mass shootings.

Read the full ruling here:

A view of the Supreme Court of the United States on June 8, 2022 in Washington, DC. The court is expected to announce a series of high-profile decisions this month.

Related article READ: Supreme Court ruling striking down New York gun law

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference in 2021.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said she is currently reviewing the Supreme Court decision to strike down a century-old New York gun law that places restrictions on carrying a concealed gun outside the home.

Her office “will continue to do everything in our power to protect New Yorkers from gun violence and preserve our state’s common sense gun laws,” she tweeted.

In a separate statement, James called the ruling “incredibly disappointing.” James said her office will work with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature to amend the state’s licensing statue in order to protect New Yorkers.

“I want to reassure all New Yorkers that our robust gun protection laws remain intact and we will be working with our partners in government to further strengthen them,” James said.?

“Make no mistake: This decision will not deter us from standing up to the gun lobby and their repeated efforts to endanger New Yorkers. I vow to use the full force of my office to protect New Yorkers and American families,” James added.

In a dissent joined by the other liberals, Justice Stephen Breyer noted the recent spate of gun violence, listing several shootings including the massacre at the Buffalo grocery store earlier this year.?Thursday’s ruling “severely burdens States’ efforts” to curb gun violence, 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 Samuel Alito pushed back in his concurrence:

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.”?

Conservative justices also dismissed concerns that defenders of New York’s gun law raised about how the law restricted the carrying of firearms into sensitive places.?

“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.?

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez speaks during the National Action Network National Convention in New York on April 7.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez calls the Supreme Court ruling on guns a “nightmare for public safety,” adding that “New York’s strong gun laws have saved lives for more than a century, and the Supreme Court’s decision to open the door for millions of New Yorkers to carry a concealed weapon is a nightmare for public safety.”

The Supreme Court struck down a New York gun law enacted more than a century ago that places restrictions on carrying a concealed gun outside the home.

In April, 10 people were shot by a gunman on the New York City subway in Brooklyn.

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas poses during a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington in 2021.

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a New York gun law enacted more than a century ago that places restrictions on carrying a concealed gun outside the home.????

Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh, who was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, each filed concurring opinions stressing the limits of Thursday’s ruling?

“Our holding decides nothing about who may lawfully possess a firearm or the requirements that must be met to buy a gun. Nor does it decide anything about the kinds of weapons that people may possess,” Alito wrote.?

Still, the majority opinion?changed the framework that lower courts will use going forward as they analyze other gun restrictions, including potentially the proposals currently before Congress if they eventually become law.?

The US Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday to strike down a New York gun law that places restrictions on carrying a concealed gun outside the home “expands the Second?Amendment right,” CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said.

“What we don’t know is if it?completely eliminates the?possibility for any sort of gun?regulation,” he said.?“It is possible that red flag?laws may still be intact after?this.”

The ruling indicates that the court is moving into the direction where the conservative justice wants “the Second Amendment to be?a first-class right like the?First Amendment.”

“What the conservatives on the?Supreme Court are saying is, ‘we?want the Second Amendment to be?a first-class right like the?First Amendment.?And we want to be able to carry?guns anywhere anytime without?any sort of regulation by the?government — without background?checks, without restrictions on?where you can take a weapon,?without restrictions on how you?can carry a weapon.’?Now, they haven’t gone that far?yet.?But they are clearly moving in?that direction,” Toobin said.

This comes against the backdrop of a slew of mass shootings across the United States.

The Supreme Court moments ago struck down a New York gun law that places restrictions on carrying a concealed gun outside the home. ?

This is the widest expansion of gun rights in a decade: In 2008, the Supreme Court held for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to keep and bear arms at home for self-defense.

After the ruling, however, to the frustration of gun rights advocates, lower courts relied upon language in the opinion to uphold many gun regulations.

Except for a followup decision two years later, the justices largely stayed away from the issue, infuriating gun rights advocates and even some of the justices themselves.

Justice?Clarence Thomas?declared at one point that the “Second Amendment is a disfavored right in this court.”

Which brings us to this case: After Justice Amy Coney Barrett took her seat, the court agreed to take up a new case, highlighting the impact of former President Donald Trump’s three nominees on the court.

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen concerned a New York law governing licenses to carry concealed handguns in public for self-defense. It requires a resident to obtain a license to carry a concealed pistol or revolver and demonstrate that “proper cause” exists for the permit. Residents must show that they have a great need for the license and that they face a “special or unique danger to their life.”

Here’s what the justices said during arguments: At?oral arguments, the conservative majority court seemed poised to strike down the New York law as going too far — although it is always dangerous to gauge the outcome of a case by what the justices say in open court. There did seem to be broad support for regulations that govern sensitive places, but the looming question will be the breadth of the decision and how it might impact other laws.

Arguments were held on Nov. 3, 2021, months before a mass shooting on a Brooklyn subway carried out by a gunman who put on a gas mask, deployed a gas canister, and then began shooting, firing at least 33 times. In May, a gunman, killed 10 people in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket; less than two weeks later, another killed 21 adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

During oral arguments, several of the justices asked questions surrounding regulations aimed at sensitive places, including the subways. Paul Clement, a lawyer for the National Rifle Association affiliate behind the challenge, argued that New York is “entitled to have laws that say that you can’t have weapons in sensitive places” and that he was not challenging those laws.

For her part, liberal Justice Elena Kagan pushed Clement for his views on the definition of sensitive places. She was the first to bring up New York City subways, asking if they count as sensitive places.

Conservative Justice?Samuel Alito, perhaps trying to gauge the scope of the eventual opinion, looked at the issue from the perspective of law-abiding people riding subways who want to be able to carry a gun to protect themselves.

Alito asked New York Solicitor General Barbara Underwood about people returning from work late at night in Manhattan. A doorman, a nurse, somebody who washes dishes are all citizens who have to “commute home by subway.” Alito suggested that they may be people who are scared but who would not qualify for a license under the New York law.

Read more about the case and the opinion’s implications here.

People walk dogs past anti-scaling fencing erected around the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, on Thursday, June 23.

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a New York gun law enacted more than a century ago that places restrictions on carrying a concealed gun outside the home.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion in the 6-3 decision, according to CNN’s Jessica Schneider.

“Because the State of New York issues public-carry licenses only when an applicant demonstrates a special need for self-defense, we conclude that the State’s licensing regime violates the Constitution,” Thomas wrote.

Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh, who was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, each filed concurring opinions stressing the limits of Thursday’s ruling:

Still, the majority opinion?changed the framework that lower courts will use going forward as they analyze other gun restrictions, including potentially the proposals currently before Congress if they eventually become law.

“This challenge was brought by?two men in upstate New York who?were denied the ability to get?this license because they were?unable to show this proper?cause.?And what the proper cause?required is that they had to?have a special need for carrying?the concealed weapons and they?had to face a special or unique?danger to their life.?So the court here in this?opinion saying that that law?just goes too far, it violates?the 14th Amendment, that?particular proper cause clause,” Schneider said.?

The decision comes as the US has seen several mass shootings in the past few months, including one on the New York City subway and in a Buffalo grocery store.

“The?conservative majority is really?going back to the idea that?Second Amendment has really?become a second-class right.?This is something that we’ve?heard Justice Thomas say in?opinions, we’ve heard him say it?this public,?Justice Alito as well,” Schneider reported.