Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
The upcoming Supreme Court case challenging New York’s restrictive carry laws is rightly seen as an exciting chance to change things. However, while a victory in this case would generate a lot of good when it comes to our rights, Second Amendment supporters must also recognize that there are some things the courts cannot protect us from.
For starters, let’s look at what the courts can do, not just in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, but others percolating up through the system. A favorable ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen would combine with the Heller-Caetano one-two punch too, in all likelihood (barring a packed court) to start dismantling many of the legislative and regulatory attacks on our rights.
In other words, “shall issue” concealed carry would be the worst-case across the country. There would be no semi-auto bans, no arbitrary limits on magazine capacity, and there is a good chance we could get some form of national reciprocity, either from a court case centered on the “full faith and credit” clause or because anti-Second Amendment extremists will come to the table to discuss national reciprocity legislation. These will be substantial victories, provided we can keep anti-Second Amendment extremists from packing the court.
Now comes the need for a reality check.
The likes of Michael Bloomberg, Chuck Schumer, Shannon Watts, and others will not give up – even after a string of rulings. They will come after our rights in a full-spectrum assault. For starters, you can bet that anti-Second Amendment attorney generals will use the Cuomo–James assault on the NRA as a template to go after other pro-Second Amendment groups. We’ve seen anti-Second Amendment extremists say that our use of the First Amendment to defend the Second Amendment is corrupt.
We will also see a push to expand the National Firearms Act’s coverage. If they cannot ban our guns, they can certainly try to make the process as cumbersome as possible. We can also see more cities and states take the approach San Jose is trying – to force exorbitant fees on our Second Amendment rights as well.
But the courts will be most helpless against Silicon Valley censorship and corporate gun control, especially if it is backed with “research” from the CDC. Legislative action can buy time to for us to address the true long-term nature of those threats, but we can only defeat those threats through convincing our fellow Americans to stand up against them. It will also be imperative for Second Amendment supporters to work hard to defeat anti-Second Amendment extremists at the federal, state, and local levels via the ballot box as soon as possible.