“…[former Solicitor General Paul] Clement begins his thorough takedown of New York’s defense by noting that the state has in essence conceded that a right to bear arms outside the home exists, and now they’re just arguing over how much the state can intrude on that right.”
In less than a month the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case known as New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen; the legal challenge to New York’s carry permitting laws that seeks to have them tossed out as a violation of the Second Amendment. Over the course of the summer, we’ve seen dozens of amicus briefs filed in support and opposition of the NYSPRA’s lawsuit, but now the final brief has been submitted to the court, and it comes from the NYSPRA itself (the NRA is also providing support for the lawsuit, but is not a named plaintiff).
The petitioner’s reply brief is a chance to answer the defendant’s argument in writing, which means in this case former Solicitor General Paul Clement is pushing back on New York’s claim that by granting plaintiffs Robert Nash and Brandon Koch “restricted” carry permits that allow them to carry their guns while hunting or target shooting, they’ve satisfied the pair’s right to bear arms. Clement begins his thorough takedown of New York’s defense by noting that the state has in essence conceded that a right to bear arms outside the home exists, and now they’re just arguing over how much the state can intrude on that right.
Indeed, the historical record is so overwhelming that the state no longer disputes that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry handguns outside the home for self-defense. While the state treats that concession as a non-event, it contradicts its earlier arguments and fatally undermines the reasoning of the decision the state seeks to preserve. The state now retreats to the equally indefensible claims that the right vanishes in “populous areas” and extends only to those with a “non-speculative need” to exercise it.
By Cam Edwards
