The U.S. Supreme Court will soon consider whether Americans can be legally prohibited from carrying a firearm in public under the Second Amendment, as the court announced Monday it will take up a challenge to New York’s restrictions on concealed carry licenses in the name of self defense.
The case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Corlett, concerns whether New York can legally prohibit people from carrying a gun outside the home without a license, and challenges the state’s practice of refusing licenses to those who can’t show they have “proper cause” to carry a firearm.
The court said Monday they would hear the case, but will only consider the question of whether New York rejecting “concealed-carry licenses for self-defense” violates the Second Amendment.
The petitioners argued New York makes it “virtually impossible” for “ordinary law-abiding citizens” to get a concealed carry license—the state bans open carry entirely—due to its rules requiring people to show a “special need for self protection distinguishable from that of the general community” rather than just a “generalized desire” to carry a weapon for self defense.