Decided June 23, 2022. The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus joined an amicus brief supporting the challengers, and the Court ruled in their favor 6-3.
Case summary
In this case, the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association sued the State of New York over its may-issue permitting law for the lawful carry of firearms. On June 23, 2022, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect an individual right to carry a firearm outside of the home.
Case details
- Case title: New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Kevin P. Bruen, in His Official Capacity as Superintendent of New York State Police
- Court: United States Supreme Court
- Previous court: United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Case #19-156, 818 Fed.Appx. 99)
- Case #: 20-843 (docket)
- SCOTUSblog coverage: case file
- Supreme Court opinion: read the opinion
Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus timeline and actions
Our involvement in this case was as a “friend of the court.” We were not a direct party.
- April 26, 2021: The US Supreme Court granted cert.
- July 20, 2021: Along with our partners the Second Amendment Foundation and 11 other state gun rights groups (Ohio, Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, Tennessee, and another national sportsmen’s group), we filed an Amicus Brief (friend of the court brief) with the United States Supreme Court.
- August 16, 2021: The US Supreme Court scheduled oral argument for November 3, 2021.
- November 3, 2021: The US Supreme Court heard oral argument in this case.
- June 23, 2022: The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in this case (opinion, our press release).
Question presented
In cases before the United States Supreme Court, the Court certifies the questions presented, on which arguments must be centered. The petition asked:
New York prohibits its ordinary law-abiding citizens from carrying a handgun outside the home without a license, and it denies licenses to every citizen who fails to convince the state that he or she has “proper cause” to carry a firearm. In District of Columbia v. Heller, this Court held that the Second Amendment protects “the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation,” 554 U.S. 570, 592 (2008), and in McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Court held that this right “is fully applicable to the States,” 561 U.S. 742, 750 (2010). For more than a decade since then, numerous courts of appeals have squarely divided on this critical question: whether the Second Amendment allows the government to deprive ordinary law-abiding citizens of the right to possess and carry a handgun outside the home. This circuit split is open and acknowledged, and it is squarely presented by this petition, in which the Second Circuit affirmed the constitutionality of a New York regime that prohibits law-abiding individuals from carrying a handgun unless they first demonstrate some form of “proper cause” that distinguishes them from the body of “the people” protected by the Second Amendment. The time has come for this Court to resolve this critical constitutional impasse and reaffirm the citizens’ fundamental right to carry a handgun for self-defense.
The question presented is: Whether the Second Amendment allows the government to prohibit ordinary law-abiding citizens from carrying handguns outside the home for self-defense.
The Court granted review limited to this question:
Whether the State’s denial of petitioners’ applications for concealed-carry licenses for self-defense violated the Second Amendment.
News coverage
- SCOTUSblog: Court to take up major gun-rights case
- SCOTUSblog: We read all the amicus briefs in New York State Rifle so you don’t have to
- SCOTUSblog: In major Second Amendment case, court will review limits on carrying a concealed gun in public.
- SCOTUSblog: Majority of court appears dubious of New York gun-control law, but justices mull narrow ruling.
- Washington Post: Supreme Court debates balance between public safety, self-defense in N.Y. gun rights case
- NY Times: Justices’ questions suggest New York gun control law is unlikely to survive
Counsel of record
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus was represented in this case by David H. Thompson and Peter A. Patterson of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC in Washington, DC.
This case is complete. All filings are on the Court’s website through the docket link above.
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Our lawsuits and amicus briefs are underwritten by the Minnesota Gun Owners Support Fund, doing business as the MN Gun Owners Law Center, a 501(c)(3). Gifts may be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.