Gun control laws in California and beyond in peril as Supreme Court expands 2nd Amendment
WASHINGTON — It wasn’t until 2008 that the Supreme Court for the first time struck down a gun control law, ruling the 2nd Amendment protected the “right of law-abiding, responsible citizens” to keep a handgun at home for self-defense.
Last year, the court went a step further and said an “ordinary law-abiding citizen” also has a right to a state permit to carry a concealed weapon in public for self-defense.
Now the justices face a new frontier: Do gun rights extend to dangerous people and dangerous weapons?
In just the last year, accused criminals and felons including drug dealers and domestic abusers have won gun rights claims by arguing that in 1791, when the 2nd Amendment was adopted, the new nation did not have broad restrictions on firearms.
They owe their success to conservative Justice Clarence Thomas and the opinion he wrote for a 6-3 majority in the 2022 case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. vs. Bruen.
A self-proclaimed champion of “originalism,” Thomas said the court should focus strictly on the “text and history” of the Constitution when considering the legality of gun control laws.
