Supreme Court Poised to Recognize Concealed Carry as a Constitutional Right in Suit Challenging New York’s “May Issue” System

Richard Moorhead | Nov 4, 2021




A Supreme Court case challenging the state of New York’s “may-issue” concealed carry permit system could prove to have serious national Second Amendment implications, potentially enshrining the constitutional right to carry a weapon in public and forcing left-wing states to issue concealed carry permits to law-abiding applicants.
On Wednesday, the court heard arguments in an appeal of a lawsuit filed against the state by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association. The conservative judges questioned attorneys for New York in regards to the state’s concealed carry permit system that suggested their skepticism of the law, with Justice Kavanaugh perplexed that applicants for a concealed carry license can’t merely describe living in an unsafe neighborhood as a just cause to carry a firearm. Justices Thomas and Barrett also questioned a representative of the plaintiffs, Paul Clement, in a manner suggesting they’re sympathetic to his argument that New York’s system violates the Second Amendment.
New York is one of several states which only “may” issue a concealed carry permit if an applicant meets a legal standard, with state bureaucrats demanding a specific and difficult explanation as to why the applicant wants to carry a gun. Concealed carry permits are almost always denied, with exceptions generally limited to politically connected insiders associated with the state’s Democratic Party. Other states with draconian may-issue systems of concealed carry licensing include New Jersey and California.
If the Supreme Court rules New York’s 100-year old law allowing county and local bureaucrats to slap down concealed carry permits is unconstitutional, it’s likely similar systems in other blue states would be illegal as well.
Oral arguments of the Supreme Court proceedings on Wednesday are hosted at legalinsurrection.com. Agents of anti-gun oligarch Michael Bloomberg have raised alarm about the court case, predicting that residents of blue states could soon have the same access to concealed carry rights that Americans in red states maintain.
A ruling in the New York Rifle and Pistol Association case is expected by June. NYRPA’s lawsuit against New York came after a law-abiding gun owner named Robert Nash was denied a concealed carry license in the wake of several crimes in his neighborhood.

Supreme Court Poised to Recognize Concealed Carry as a Constitutional Right in Suit Challenging New York's "May Issue" System - Big League Politics