The topic of the Second Amendment and gun control is arguably the single most important safety issue discussed among Americans today. But what does the justice system think? How will their opinions guide the debate? Currently there is pending supreme court case New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. City of New York which has the potential to guide legislation on the gun laws for years to come. In order to predict how this court case will be decided it is important to look at historical context. In D.C. v Heller (2008) the Court decided that citizens possess the right to own a gun for self-defense. However in the majority opinion, the Court did not make clear as to what degree the Second Amendment can be regulated. Delivering the majority opinion, Justice Scalia wrote that “the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.”
For the pending court case, it is important to note the argument of mootness, where the state of New York has since removed the law in question, which would remove the need for the court to review the case. Ignoring the idea of mootness for the purposes of this discussion and with the new addition of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, I believe that when this case is addressed by the Supreme Court, they will rule 5-4 in favor of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association (NYSRPA). The majority opinion will likely argue that laws regulating the Second Amendment require similar adaptations of scrutiny that exist regarding the First Amendment.
While the Court will most likely rule in favor of the NYSRPA, there are conflicting views as to how strict regulations must be in order to remain constitutional. In the denial of certiorari for Friedman v Highland Park (2015), Justice Thomas wrote, “If a broad ban on firearms can be upheld based on conjecture that the public might feel safer (while being no safer at all), then the Second Amendment guarantees nothing […] relegating the Second Amendment to a second-class right.” With the influence of Second Amendment defendants such as Justices Thomas and Scalia, I believe that the Court will claim that statutes involving the Second Amendment must adhere to a test of intermediate scrutiny with framework similar to the O’Brien test. The test will dictate if:
- The regulation is within the constitutional power of the government
- The regulation furthers an important or substantial government interest
- Is the regulation as least restrictive on Second Amendment freedoms as possible?
Under this level of scrutiny, the New York law will be deemed unconstitutional. New York has so far been unable to provide substantial evidence other than conjecture that their regulation furthers government interest of safety. Additionally the law would be declared not narrow-tailored to be as least restrictive as possible as individuals would be unable to transport their weapon anywhere outside the city. This ruling could create a ripple effect which would remove gun regulations from every standing state legislature. At the end of the day, the Court has a duty to uphold precedents (however vague they may be) and if the public would like to see stricter gun control, they must first change the most fundamental laws the country has, the Bill of Rights.
The Current State of the Second Amendment 
I think you bring up a very valid point that gun control laws will not change unless the Bill of Rights changes. I think it is crucial for us to understand that the courts cannot do much about changing gun control laws because of the strictness of the constitution. This is especially important to discuss right now because gun safety issues are frequently in the news, such as school shootings. I think that we should amend the Bill of Rights because our society has changed very drastically since 1791, however, I am unsure of how we should amend it. I think the important thing is to try to implement ways to prevent mentally unstable individuals from getting their hands on a gun. I think we should start by looking at countries which have lower rates of mass shootings, and try to infer why they have better gun safety. This will give us ideas as to what may help increase fun safety in America.
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Lately, the world itself has been experiencing many gun crises. As the country of the free, we American’s aim to create a safe environment for our people while also making sure the people are happy. But in that, it is difficult to satisfy millions of people. Gun control has been the talk of the town but apparently, not much has been done in America. Other than its simple regulation to regulate guns, the progress of banning guns has not moved an inch. Countries like the UK banned guns already and some did this in a matter of hours. As mentioned in your blog, you said the first step into making a change is to change the court’s law, the Bill of Rights. This is very much correct considering that owning firearms is part of the second amendment. However, altering the Bill of Rights is something that will definitely not be easy to do. If anything, I think it will be much easier to find a solution to the current gun crisis than trying to alter the Bill of Rights.
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Reading the post, it was interesting to see how the 2nd amendment relates to safety. As you mentioned, the outcome of the court case could potentially change how gun laws are implementing in New York in the future. Thus thinking about this case, and as you said, changing the 2nd amendment would essentially require a reconsideration of the basis of this country, the Bill of Rights. Thus, this opens up the idea of whether the U.S. should uphold the Bill of Rights, or is it time to rewrite it as it is almost 300 years old. Regardless, would you consider such a law or the idea of rewriting the 2nd amendment impactful, on whether such change would help gun violence and make the U.S. safer as some suggested? Such a question would help understand the different perspectives, as well as look into the facts before rewriting the fundamental rights of the U.S..
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With so many gun violence across the nation, gun control should be on the top priority of our Government. But because the SCOTUS follows the law and cannot change much about the situation, I believe you are right about rewriting the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was written a long time ago, a time where our founding fathers couldn’t predict how the future would look like. These Amendments are outdated and should be rewritten in order for the people to have a deep understanding of what the 2nd Amendment protects. So my question at the end would be, what would the 2nd Amendment protect and how would that secure the safety of the people of the United States?
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I think it is a meaningful topic and it is under the right time to discuss the control of the gun. Some countries do well in gun control but the U.S. has not taken very good steps in this regard. We’ve heard many campuses are under the risk of gun. I agree with what you said in the blog that the country should rewrite the 2nd amendment and set some laws about gun control. However, it is not easy to rewrite the amendment. We still need to consider the positive and negative impacts of rewriting laws.
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Over the years this has become a trending topic that seems to be never ending. With the amount of school shootings that occurred in the US was very tragic which is why this blog has caught my attention so deeply. It is crazy to believe that there is a strong relation between the second amendment and one’s safety. Even with all of this tragedy nothing has really been done in America and that is due to the strictness of the constitution. I believe there just needs to be a greater sensor on who is allowed to buy guns as they really should not be handed to just anyone. I definitely agree that the first change that needs to happen is within the courts law, specifically the bill of rights. It will not be easy but some change needs to occur to increase the safety of all society especially with this pandemic that is occurring at the moment.
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This is a very important and sensitive topic. It is also more relevant now because of the presidential election that is coming up. It is clear to see that you are passionate about your topic and that you keep up to date with the news revolving the second amendment. Some of these cases I never even heard about, and it is interesting to hear about them. It is also interesting to think how the outcome of a court case can alter future decision. There may even be a possibility of this outcome having a ripple effect and causing other states to change some of their laws. It is important for them to be detailed about their decisions because if they are not, then some people may look for loopholes and try to find outcomes that will benefit them. This will always be a hot topic is the United States due to how some people are more passionate about keeping the second amendment, while others are equally as passionate in removing the second amendment.
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