WASHINGTON (TSWT News) — The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a New York law which imposed strict restrictions on the carrying of concealed firearms in public for self-defense, holding that its requirement that applicants for a concealed carry license demonstrate “lawful cause” is unconstitutional.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling upholding New York’s 108-year-old law limiting who can get a license to carry a concealed handgun in public. Supporters of the measure have warned that a High Court ruling overturning it could threaten gun restrictions in several states and lead to more guns on city streets.
READ MORE: Former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum charged with wire fraud
Judge Clarence Thomas expressed the majority opinion for the ideologically divided court, writing that New York’s “just cause requirement” prevented law-abiding citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights and that its licensing regime was unconstitutional.
READ MORE: 24 cases and seven deaths in bisexual and gay men reported in Florida meningococcal disease outbreak
“The constitutional right to bear arms in public in self-defense is not ‘a second-class right, subject to an entirely different set of rules than the other guarantees of the Bill of Rights,'” Thomas wrote. “We know of no other constitutional right that an individual can exercise only after demonstrating to government officials a particular need. This is not how the First Amendment works when it comes to unpopular speech or the free exercise of religion. This is not how the Sixth Amendment works when it comes to a defendant’s right to confront prosecution witnesses. And that’s not how the Second Amendment works when it comes to public transportation for self-defense.
NO MORE NEWS: Georgia Supreme Court Overturns Murder Conviction Against Justin Ross Harris
Click here for more details on TSWT News.
.
