(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed ready to strike down a restrictive New York gun permitting law, but the justices also seemed worried that a broad ruling could threaten gun restrictions on subways, bars, stadiums and other gathering places.
The court was hearing arguments in its biggest guns case in more than a decade, a dispute over whether New York’s law violates the Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms.”
Chief Justice John Roberts and other conservative members of the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, suggested New York’s law goes too far. Why, Roberts asked, does a person seeking a license to carry a gun in public for self defense have to show a special need to do so. “The idea that you would need a license to exercise a right is unusual with regard to the Bill of Rights,” he said.
Governor Kathy Hochul Wednesday said that she hoped for solutions that would save lives.
“The scourge of gun violence has taken far too many lives, and I’m proud that New York is a national model for the strongest gun safety laws,” Hochul said in a statement. “With arguments being heard today, my hope is that the Supreme Court upholds our state’s commonsense law that requires ‘proper cause’ for issuing concealed carry pistol permits. Having more armed people in public places doesn’t make us any safer.”
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