Prairie State Wire

The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) applauded the recent landmark Supreme Court decision regarding the Second Amendment.

“While much of the media has been focused on a few flashy Supreme Court decisions, gun owners were handed a MAJOR victory in outcome of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen Supreme Court Case," the ISRA said. "This landmark decision further affirmed your individual right to keep and bear arms, without having to build a case that would likely be rejected. This was a great victory for 'may issue' states! What started with the Heller decision is now seeing real-world results for Second Amendment advocates across the country. ISRA Legal Assistance Committee provided an amicus brief along with the Second Amendment Foundation and several other state organizations in support of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association.”

The National Rifle Association (NRA) called it “the most significant Second Amendment ruling in more than a decade.” 

“This decision unequivocally validates the position of the NRA and should put lawmakers on notice: No law should be passed that impinges this individual freedom,” NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said. 

This comes as the Senate is considering a new gun control bill. 

“Decades of Right-to-Carry laws all across America have proven that good men and women are not the problem,” LaPierre said. 

In recent decades, the NRA has focused on promoting “shall-issue” protocols and eliminating “may-issue” protocols. This ruling marked an end to “may-issue” laws. The NRA said this was a monumental day for gun owners, but it pledged to continue to fight for gun rights.

In the case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, the Supreme Court held, “New York’s proper-cause requirement for obtaining an unrestricted license to carry a concealed firearm violates the 14th Amendment in that it prevents law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms,” according to SCOTUSblog.

It was a 6-3 decision with the opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas. Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh all filed concurring opinions with Chief Justice John Roberts joining Kavanaugh’s. Justice Stephen Breyer dissented, and Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor joined.

Justice Thomas' majority opinion in Bruen held that regular Americans have the right to carry arms in public places and that Second Amendment adjudication is an analysis of “the Second Amendment’s text, as informed by history,” Joseph Greenlee, FPC director of constitutional studies wrote on SCOTUSblog. 

The 14th Amendment says that the Second Amendment and state’s rights have equal weight in terms of law. However, six states took the power to decide if citizens can be armed in public on a case-by-case basis through “may-issue” laws, where the state examined if the citizen really needed a firearm. In New York, the law in question said the state had to examine the circumstances before allowing a person to carry in public. This ruling struck down that New York law, and it has set a new precedent regarding the Second Amendment in the courts.