Supreme Court gun ruling a ‘dark day for America,’ says California Gov. Gavin Newsom
California’s tough laws regulating concealed carry weapons are likely imperiled by the Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday striking down a similar New York statute, on what Gov. Gavin Newsom called a “dark day in America.”
The 6-to-3 decision means “more people will carry guns in bars, in shopping malls, in churches, hospitals, movie theaters, even schools.,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in a statement. Feinstein has been active for decades promoting gun safety and regulation.
The New York law says gun owners must demonstrate a special need for self-defense to carry a handgun in public. It’s up to local officials to say who can get a concealed carry permit.
While 25 states generally require a permit to carry concealed weapons in public, laws in New York and seven other states and the District of Columbia, including California, are more stringent. The California law requires people to give strong reasons to local law enforcement officials why they need to carry a gun in public.
Newsom said: “This is a dangerous decision from a court hell bent on pushing a radical ideological agenda and infringing on the rights of states to protect our citizens from being gunned down in our streets, schools, and churches.”
It is unclear what will happen next. The decision does not automatically mean state laws regarding concealed carry weapons are invalid. But experts predicted new legal challenges – and said Thursday’s court decision could have consequences.
“By striking down New York’s concealed carry permit law, the Supreme Court is stripping states of their ability to set gun regulations to keep their citizens safe,” said Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.
The ruling, he said, “undermines the authority of states to responsibly regulate the use of firearms and will lead to more gun violence.”
Challenges to the law
Gun rights groups are prepared to challenge the California law.
“The Supreme Court’s decision today affirms again that laws infringing on the individual right to bear arms should be scrutinized with skepticism by courts.,” said Chuck Michel, president and general counsel for the California Rifle & Pistol Association.
He was optimistic about their chances for success. “Today, the high court recognized that the Second Amendment must be respected, and that other courts, particularly the Ninth Circuit [the federal court that handles appeals in California] have inappropriately refused to recognize the rights of the American people for far too long.,” Michel said.
The National Rifle Association also saw court challenges coming soon.
“This is more than just a great day for New York because this ruling opens the door to rightly change the law in the seven remaining jurisdictions that still don’t recognize the right to carry a firearm for personal protection,” said Jason Ouimet, executive director, National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, in a statement.
There’s little prospect that Congress could somehow tighten concealed carry laws. Gun safety advocates have spent years trying to restrict firearms ownership but have been consistently thwarted. Congress is expected to pass legislation this week that will make some changes, but they should not affect concealed carry laws.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, didn’t offer much hope for such changes Thursday.
“Disturbingly, the twisted logic of this ruling could hinder the ability of local, state and federal governments to keep families safe from gun violence – at a time when urgent steps are deeply needed,” she said. “By making it more difficult to enact measures that reduce gun violence, the GOP supermajority Court is condoning the horrific mass shootings and ongoing tragedy of daily gun deaths plaguing our nation.”
The six justices in the majority Thursday were all appointed by Republican presidents. The three dissenters were all appointed by Democrats.
Currently, California and the other seven states with tougher concealed carry laws “grant the issuing authority wide discretion to deny a concealed weapon permit to an applicant,” says the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
A permit in those states can be denied if “the authority believes the applicant has not demonstrated that they would safely or responsibly handle the firearm or have not demonstrated a particularized reason for carrying a weapon in public,” the center said.
This story was originally published June 23, 2022 at 9:47 AM.
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