The Supreme Court had been kicking the case of Peruta vs. San Diego County down the road for weeks now. The case centers on the right to bear arms outside the home (see our posts hereand here). Speculation was that the delay was due to Justices waiting to see whether or not Anthony Kennedy would retire at the end of the current term.
Court watchers posited that if he decided to call it a career, the Court would grant cert. That given his record of casting swing votes alternating between the Court’s left and right wings, taking the case while he’s still on the bench would be too big a gamble for either side to stomach.
Well today, on the last day of the court’s term, Peruta was denied cert. Two justices dissented from the decision not to hear the case; Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch. That’s a portion of Thomas’s dissent above. He also had this to say:
No announcement yet as to whether Justice Kennedy will hang around for the next term or give President Trump another Court pick. In the mean time, thanks to the Ninth Circus decision, depending on the state or locality where they live, Americans must show good cause to exercise their right to bear arms when they leave their own homes. This must not stand.
by Dan Zimmerman
