(TargetLiberty.org) – The year 2020 was supposed to be a great one for the Second Amendment. It was hoped that President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court justices would expand gun rights laws. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
In 2019, the Supreme Court agreed to hear New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. New York City. It’s the first time in almost a decade the highest court would listen to oral arguments for a gun rights case.
The case was a challenge to NYC’s rule that people with a “premises permit” could only transport their licensed firearms to one of the gun ranges in the city. Those people would have to get another permit if they wanted to carry it elsewhere. The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association argued the requirement forcing law-abiding citizens to obtain more than one permit is a violation of the Second Amendment. The NYPD ended up loosening the rule, but the Supreme Court still kept it on their docket.
When the case moved forward, people on both sides of the gun debate believed the Court would expand the Second Amendment. Some even thought the SCOTUS might guarantee the rights of citizens to carry in public.
Well, the case was finally decided and it didn’t go that way at all.
The Ruling
On April 27, the justices on the SCOTUS sent the case back to the lower court. The opinion from the Court wasn’t signed, but it noted the law had changed so they no longer had to rule on it.
The decision was disappointing for gun rights advocates, but there’s a silver lining. Three of the conservative justices on the court, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito dissented. Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the majority opinion, but he did say the highest court would have to address the Second Amendment soon.
Another Case on The Horizon?
So, this wasn’t the outcome those gun rights advocates hoped for, but there will likely be more cases to test the law. Gun control advocates have been trying for years to pass restrictive laws across the country. If Second Amendment supporters keep on suing, it’s likely one of the cases will make it back to the Supreme Court. And that could be what we need to make sure our rights are cemented once and for all.
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