High court seems ready to strike down New York gun law
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.