On Thursday, the Supreme Court voted 6–3 to strike down New York’s concealed-carry restrictions, with Justice Clarence Thomas writing for the majority that “nothing in the Second Amendment’s text draws a home/public distinction with respect to the right to keep and bear arms” and that the “definition of ‘bear’ naturally encompasses public carry.”
In his dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer writes, “The dangers posed by firearms can take many forms,” and then has a long list of mass shootings that have occurred in recent years, including the attacks in Uvalde and Buffalo.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Samuel Alito strikes back:
In light of what we have actually held, it is hard to see what legitimate purpose can possibly be served by most of the dissent’s lengthy introductory section. . . . Why, for example, does the dissent think it is relevant to recount the mass shootings that have occurred in recent years? . . . Does the dissent think that laws like New York’s prevent or deter such atrocities? Will a person bent on carrying out a mass shooting be stopped if he knows that it is illegal to carry a handgun outside the home? And how does the dissent account for the fact that one of the mass shootings near the top of its list took place in Buffalo? The New York law at issue in this case obviously did not stop that perpetrator.