The Supreme Court announced this week it will consider how much protection the Second Amendment provides for carrying a gun outside the home. The Court hasn’t taken up a case of this nature in over a decade, NBC News reports. To be specific, since 2008, when the Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller […]
The Supreme Court announced this week it will consider how much protection the Second Amendment provides for carrying a gun outside the home.
The Court hasn’t taken up a case of this nature in over a decade, NBC News reports. To be specific, since 2008, when the Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment provides the right to keep a handgun at home for self-defense.
The court agreed to hear a challenge to a New York state law which allows residents to carry a concealed handgun only if they can prove a special need beyond self-protection.
The law makes it “virtually impossible for the ordinary law-abiding citizen” to get the license, Paul Clement, a lawyer representing the challengers, said.
Both Robert Nash and Brendan Koch said they wanted to carry a gun following a series of robberies in their neighborhood. Both completed gun safety courses, but were rejected when applying for permits. Thus, they joined a lawsuit brought by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association.
In response to an increase in homicides and suicides by firearm, the New York state law says anyone wishing for a license to carry a concealed weapon must show “a special need for self protection distinguishable from that of the general community or of persons engaged in the same profession.”
The case will be argued in the early fall during the court’s next term.
