Washington | The Supreme Court of the United States, profoundly overhauled by Donald Trump, examines on Wednesday an appeal against a New York law and its decision could allow all Americans to leave their homes armed.
The hearing, the most important devoted to firearms for more than ten years, arouses strong apprehensions among supporters of strengthened regulations who are wary of its conservative majority (six judges out of nine).
“The law at the heart of this case has existed for more than 100 years (…) the fact that the Court has agreed to examine it should worry us all,” said Eric Tirschwell, executive director of the Everytown Law organization in a message sent to AFP.
“The stakes are extremely high (…) especially in the context of increasing violence by firearms,” he added, referring to the increase in homicides and fatal accidents from 15,500 to 19 Around 500 between 2019 and 2020 in the United States.
The defenders of the carrying of weapons on the contrary see in these figures the proof that the Americans need to be armed more to defend themselves and are delighted to see the subject before a Supreme Court apparently sensitive to their cause.
The temple of law, where the former Republican president brought in three judges, today has a “solid majority (..) of magistrates who think that the Constitution must be interpreted as it was understood when it was written”, a recently highlighted the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) arms lobby.
The NRA is pushing for a literal reading of the Second Amendment to the Constitution. Ratified in 1791, it states that “a well-organized militia being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to hold and bear arms will not be violated”.
In 1939, the Supreme Court ruled that it protected the right to use weapons as part of a law enforcement force, such as the army or the police, but was not an individual right to self-defense.
She changed her position in a landmark 2008 shutdown and for the first time established a right to own a gun at home in self-defense.
However, it left cities and states to regulate out-of-home transportation, so the rules vary widely from place to place.
“Disturbing”
After ten years of refusing to return to the subject, despite numerous requests, the high court finally accepted an appeal filed by an NRA affiliate and two gun owners who are challenging a New State law. York.
Since 1913, this law has restricted the issuance of permits to carry concealed weapons to people who have reason to believe that they may have to defend themselves, for example because of their profession or threats aimed at them.
If the Supreme Court invalidates this law, it could immediately overturn similar rules in force in seven other states, including some very populous like California or New Jersey, underlines Joseph Blocher, professor of law at Duke University.
“80 million Americans live in these states, so the real impact will be huge,” he said.
Beyond that, the file could “be a turning point in the way in which the courts examine the files related to the Second Amendment”, notes Éric Ruben associate professor at the SMU law school in Texas.
Over the past decade, courts have generally held that restrictions adopted by states or cities may be justified by security concerns.
Proponents of carrying guns ask the Court to take advantage of the New York case “to reject this approach and focus only on the text, history and traditions”, which is “disturbing because the violence by gun to fire was not a problem in the 18th century, ”says Ruben.
If the court ruled in their favor, it would “open the door to a series of new complaints against all existing regulations,” he said.
The Court is due to render its decision before the end of June 2022.