New Jersey Joins New York in Defying the SCOTUS Decision Upholding the Right To Bear Arms

Most states respect the constitutional right to carry guns in public for self-defense, which the Supreme Court upheld last June. But some states are only pretending to comply with the Second Amendment, as illustrated by the law that New York passed after that decision and a similar bill that legislative leaders in New Jersey introduced last week.

In an October 6 ruling, U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby rejected New York's attempt to defy the Constitution and the Supreme Court. Although New York eliminated a demand that carry permit applicants show "proper cause," which the Court said gave licensing officials too much discretion, the state retained and elaborated on a requirement that applicants demonstrate "good moral character."

That amorphous standard, Suddaby noted, is based on "undefined assessments" of "temperament," "judgment," and trustworthiness. New York "has replaced its requirement that an applicant show a special need for self-protection with its requirement that the applicant rebut the presumption that he or she is a danger," he wrote, "while retaining (and even expanding) the open-ended discretion afforded to its licensing officers."