On Monday, December 2, 2019, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York.
This is the most significant Second Amendment case the Court has addressed in recent years.
The case will determine if New York City laws about transporting, a licensed, unloaded, and locked firearm to a place of residence or shooting range outside of the five boroughs are a violation of the Second Amendment. According to a Federalist Society blog post, under the current laws being questioned “a New Yorker whom the City itself has licensed to possess a handgun cannot transport her handgun to a weekend second home (even to exercise the core constitutional purpose of self-defense), to an upstate county to participate in a shooting competition, or even across the bridge to a neighboring city for target practice.”
However, New York City authorities claim that the controversy is no longer relevant because they loosened some of the travel and transportation restrictions earlier this year when it was becoming clear that this case was gaining momentum in the courts. Instead, the court told them that they must still in argue in court.
Many questions will be answered in this upcoming case. New Justices Neil Gorsuch and Bret Kavanaugh’s conservative jurisprudence will be under the microscope. Their opinions in this case could be make or break for what it is arguably biggest Second Amendment case since the 2008 D.C. v. Heller.
A pro-Second Amendment ruling from the Court would come in handy for an anti-gun state like New York.
