After punting on several Second Amendment cases over the past few years, the Supreme Court has agreed to take up a gun rights case from New York. The case involves a New York state law that requires people who request a concealed carry permit to demonstrate “a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community or of persons engaged in the same profession.”
Because New York does not allow people to openly carry handguns, citizens must obtain the permit in order to legally carry their guns outside of their homes. Paul Clement, a lawyer representing the challengers, said that the law “makes it virtually impossible for the ordinary law-abiding citizen” to obtain a concealed carry permit in the state.
One of the men challenging the law is Robert Nash, who was denied a permit after attempting to obtain one following a string of burglaries in his neighborhood. The other petitioner, Brandon Koch, was denied a license despite taking gun safety courses.
“Good, even impeccable, moral character plus a simple desire to exercise a fundamental right is,” Clement said, “not sufficient.” “Nor is living or being employed in a high crime area,” he added.
Thus, the nation is split, with the Second Amendment alive and well in the vast middle of the nation, and those same rights disregarded near the coasts,” Clement wrote.
The case will be argued during the Court’s fall term.