The Supreme Court agreed Monday to take up an appeal that could expand Americans’ Second Amendment rights outside the home when carrying a firearm in public.
The New York case will be the Supreme Court’s first foray into gun rights since Justice Amy Coney Barrett came on board in October. It will also be the first major gun-rights decision by the court in more than a decade.
The latest addition to the bench brought the court to a 6-3 conservative majority.
The justices said Monday they will review a lower-court ruling that upheld New York’s restrictive gun permit law – likely to be argued in the fall.
The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and two individuals, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, who are bringing the case argue the state is violating their constitutional rights by only issuing carry licenses to those who can show a special need for protection.
Nash said he wanted to carry a gun in response to a string of robberies in his neighborhood.
If the law is found unconstitutional, it will require state and local governments to allow their citizens to carry firearms in public for self defense purposes.
The court’s action follows several mass shootings in recent weeks in Indiana, Georgia, Colorado and California.
The court had turned down review of the same issue in June, before Barrett took over following Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.
Barrett’s seat on the court could sway the outcome as she has a much more expansive view of gun rights than Ginsburg.
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SOURCE: Daily Mail, Katelyn Caralle; The Associated Press
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