The United States Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the carrying of guns in public cannot be restricted by state laws. In practice, the sentence opens space for more armed people to circulate on the streets, at a time when the country is debating ways to avoid new shooting massacres.
The court found a 1913 New York state law unconstitutional that required people interested in carrying a pistol in the streets to provide a justification for doing so. A 6-3 majority of judges ruled that such restrictions go against the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees citizens the possession of guns.
Other states, such as Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey, have similar laws, which are now set to expire.
Initial analyzes point to the decision as one of the biggest expansions of the right to bear arms ever made in the country. Over the decades, the Supreme Court has rarely taken a stand on the issue, which has left room for local regulations.
President Joe Biden, who has proposed projects to restrict access to guns in the country, said he was “deeply disappointed.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said the decision means “a day of darkness has arrived” and is “absolutely shocking”.
The case that reached the Supreme Court was initiated by two men, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, who had challenged the law in court for not being able to get a permit to carry a gun at all times, as they would have liked. They argued that this limited citizens’ possibilities to defend themselves.
Thursday’s ruling asserts that the US Constitution protects “the right of an individual to carry a weapon for self-defense outside the home.” For Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, there is “no other constitutional right that an individual can exercise only after demonstrating to government officials some special need.”
For liberal justice Stephen Breyer, who disagreed with most of his colleagues, “the court’s interpretation ignores significant dangers [que as armas têm representado na violência americana] and leaves states without the ability to address them,” he wrote.
The last major decision by the Court on the subject was in 2008, when judges held that Americans had the right to keep guns in their homes. At the time, the decision to carry a gun in public had been left open.
The Supreme Court’s decision comes the same week that senators launched a bipartisan bill to limit access to firearms, with the aim of preventing further shootings in public places. The package, called the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, includes expanded background checks for firearm buyers and more federal funding for mental health programs. The proposal awaits a vote in the Senate.
The bill came after two gun massacres shocked the country and fueled the debate for greater control over access to weapons. On May 14, an 18-year-old man killed ten black people at a supermarket in the city of Buffalo, New York. Ten days later, another 18-year-old man killed 19 children and two teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas.
