Gun Rights Victory: Supreme Court Tosses New York Law Restricting Concealed Carry

June 23, 2022
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"U.S. Supreme Court Building" by Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D. is marked with CC0 1.0.

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a 100-year-old law in New York that severely restricts obtaining a license to carry a concealed handgun.

The ruling marks the first significant Second Amendment decision by the Court in more than a decade.

It also comes as a bipartisan group of Senators (including 14 Republicans) have been working this week to pass a gun control law that includes ‘red flag’ incentives and other restrictions on purchasing firearms.

The existing New York law requires an applicant to show “proper cause” for seeking a license, leaving bureaucrats to decide whether or not the applicant is worthy of exercising their Second Amendment rights. Simply expressing a desire to protect the individual or their property was not enough.

Justice Clarence Thomas, in writing the majority opinion, states “ordinary, law-abiding citizens have a similar right to carry handguns publicly for their self-defense.”

“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 added.

The conservative justice also used the Fourteenth Amendment in his arguments.

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Liberals Outraged Over Supreme Court’s Concealed Carry Ruling

As you might imagine, liberal reaction to the Supreme Court ruling that New York’s concealed carry restrictions are unconstitutional ranged from the wacky to ‘everybody is going to die.’

On that note, here is Marianne Williamson, author and one-time gadfly Democratic presidential candidate, who surmised: “People will die because of this.”

Williamson also argues this was less about the Second Amendment and more about property rights. Whatever that means.

Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, not exactly known throughout the media industry for his measured and thoughtful remarks, urged extreme measures. 

Like ‘dissolving’ the Supreme Court.

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin of ToobinGate fame practically wept as he explained the Supreme Court ruling definitely “expands the Second Amendment right.”

He claimed that the Court wants to make the Second Amendment “a first-class right like the First Amendment.”

It’s unclear what he means by “first-class right,” as if the Second Amendment or the Fourteenth Amendment are lesser in importance. There aren’t first-class or second-class rights, only unalienable rights.

Toobin also fretted that the Supreme Court ruling on concealed carry in New York would mean any attempts at gun regulation would be wiped out.

“Any sort of regulation that tells people what kind of gun you can carry and where you can carry it as long as you say you are doing it for self-defense — it is very hard for me to imagine how many of those could be upheld anymore,” Toobin explained.

Then, there was this impressive hot take from Supreme Court lawyer and law professor, Neal Katyal, suggesting the only way for the court to remain consistent is to rule similarly on the “constitutional right to obtain an abortion,” something that doesn’t exist anywhere.

Columnist Auron MacIntyre compiled his own list of the worst left-wing meltdowns to the ruling. Here is a brief smattering of select unhinged reactions:

RELATED: MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Tells Pro-Gun Control British Reporter ‘Go Back to Your Country’

New York Governor Threatens to Return State to a Time of Muskets

Perhaps the worst response to the Supreme Court ruling on New York’s concealed carry law came from the governor of the Empire State herself.

Kathy Hochul threatened to strip New Yorkers of their Second Amendment rights and turn the clock back on guns by restricting everybody to muskets.

“I’m sorry this dark day has come,” a saddened Hochul declared.

“That we’re supposed to go back to what was in place since 1788 when the Constitution of United States America was ratified. And I would like to point out to the Supreme Court justices that the only weapons at that time were muskets,” she added.

“I’m prepared to go back to muskets.”

It’s the kind of comment that, in a sane world, would see Hochul immediately impeached or forced to resign. Threatening law-abiding New Yorkers with having their Second Amendment rights squashed should never be tolerated.

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By Rusty Weiss

Rusty Weiss has been covering politics for over 15 years. His writings have appeared in the Daily Caller, Fox... More about Rusty Weiss

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