- The Supreme Court is soon expected to release a decision on a major gun-rights case.
- The court's conservative majority appears open to expanding the Second Amendment.
- The decision will come by late June or early July.
While Americans are reeling from horrific mass shootings at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York last week and an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, the Supreme Court is deciding on a major case that may strike down a slew of gun-safety laws in the country and expand Americans' right to carry a gun in public.
The nation's highest court, made up of a 6-3 conservative majority, is expected to hand down a ruling in late June or early July on the most significant gun-rights case the court has considered in 14 years.
At the center of the case is a New York gun-permit law that was enacted over a century ago. It requires people who want a license to carry a gun in public to demonstrate a "proper cause," or a special reason, for doing so.
The challengers, backed by the National Rifle Association, are two New York men who applied for state permits to carry a concealed gun in public for self-defense purposes and were denied because they did not meet the "proper cause" standard. They claimed that the New York law, which has been upheld by the lower courts, violates their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments for the case on November 3. During the arguments, the conservative justices appeared open to the idea that the New York rule was unconstitutional.
"Why isn't it good enough to say I live in a violent area and I want to be able to defend myself?" Justice Brett Kavanaugh, appointed by former President Donald Trump, asked during oral arguments.
According to Justice Samuel Alito, a George W. Bush appointee, criminals can walk around New York City with their illegal guns "but the ordinary hard-working, law-abiding people" can't be armed, he said during oral arguments.
If the court decides to wipe out the New York rule, the outcome would have sweeping consequences. In addition to New York, at least seven other states, including California, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Hawaii, representing a total of 73 million people in the country, have similar concealed carry licensing rules that would be expected to fall.
Such an outcome would bring more guns into public spaces, according to supporters of the gun-reform movement, which has long advocated for more public-safety laws to reduce gun violence. Gun-rights advocates, conversely, claim that a decision siding with the challengers would simply allow more "law-abiding" gun owners to protect themselves in public.
The court could issue a narrow ruling on the case that allows some exceptions. During oral arguments, for example, the justices expressed concern about people carrying concealed guns in crowded public areas including sports stadiums, university campuses, and Times Square in Manhattan.
This is the first major case in which the Supreme Court is considering whether the Constitution protects an individual's right to carry a gun outside the home. The last time the court decided a landmark gun-rights case was in 2008, when the majority of justices declared that the Constitution protects the right to keep a gun inside the home for self-defense.
In Texas, where an 18-year-old gunman opened fire in an elementary school, leaving at least 19 children and two adults dead on Tuesday, the law allows people aged 21 or older to carry a gun in public without a permit.