Paul Clement, arguing on behalf of New York residents who want an unrestricted right to carry concealed weapons in public, replied that while government buildings and schools might be off limits, bars “might be a tougher case for the government.” New York State Rifle & Pistol Association president Tom King poses for a photo Oct. “What sort of place do you think they could be excluded from? Any place where alcohol is served?” Roberts asked. Could a football stadium or a college campus be off limits, he asked. “The idea that you would need a license to exercise a right is unusual with regard to the Bill of Rights,” he said.īut Roberts was also among the justices who pressed a lawyer for the law’s challengers on where guns might be prohibited. Why, Roberts asked, does a person seeking a license to carry a gun in public for self defense have to show a special need to do so.
The court was hearing arguments in its biggest guns case in more than a decade, a dispute over whether New York’s law violates the Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms.”Ĭhief Justice John Roberts and other conservative members of the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, suggested New York’s law goes too far. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed ready to strike down a restrictive New York gun permitting law, but the justices also seemed worried that a broad ruling could threaten gun restrictions on subways, bars, stadiums and other gathering places.
