U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in NRA-Backed Case Threatening Gun Safety Laws Nationwide

The lawsuit brought by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association pushes the NRA’s deadly agenda: to allow people to carry guns in public without any restrictions

New York, NY — Today, the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in NYSRPA v. Bruen, a lawsuit filed by an NRA-affiliated firearms organization, that seeks to undermine gun safety legislation in New York, with major ramifications for gun laws nationwide. The lawsuit challenges New York state’s concealed carry licensing law and could determine whether people can carry guns outside of the home without any restrictions. Moreover, the case positions the court to decide whether a “proper cause” requirement is constitutional, a decision which could have disastrous implications for states and cities that have successfully suppressed rates of gun violence by limiting access to firearm permits.

NYSRPA v. Bruen is the most significant Second Amendment case before the court since its radical expansion of gun rights in the 2008 Heller decision, which held that the constitution protects the right to bear arms outside of a militia, particularly within the home. A ruling in favor of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association would go a step further by eliminating virtually any barriers to acquiring a firearm for public use, drastically rewriting the limits on the Second Amendment yet again. March For Our Lives strongly opposes the dangerous and deadly precedent that this ruling would set.

“This lawsuit is another clear attempt by the NRA to destroy popular laws and policies that save lives and, sensibly, put people before guns. Just like their corruption, we see this power grab by the NRA for exactly what it is. As a survivor of gun violence, I urge the Court to consider the ramifications of this decision on young Americans, who have grown up with the worst levels of gun violence in history. It is immoral and unconscionable to strip future generations of the little protection we have in this country against guns. Please do the right thing by ruling in favor of our right to not be shot,” said David Hogg, co-founder and board member of March For Our Lives.

“Americans will pay for a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs with their lives,” said Alexis Confer, Executive Director of March For Our Lives. “This decision cannot be made in a vacuum; it must factor the unprecedented level of gun violence we’re currently experiencing in this country. Acquiescing to the gun lobby is the reason we’re in this historic crisis in the first place. Laws that make it more difficult to obtain and carry a firearm work to reduce gun violence and must be protected.”

March For Our Lives filed an amicus brief this summer that shares just a few stories of young Americans who have been personally touched by gun violence, capturing the experience of a generation that has been forced to grow up amidst this epidemic. The brief urges the Court to adhere to their current jurisprudence that allows state and local authorities to respond to the crisis of gun violence with sensible gun safety legislation like the concealed carry law in New York state that has been in place for over a century.

• Samantha Mayor, who was shot in the knee in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people

• Elimar Depaula, who was left paralyzed after another driver shot her in a fit of road rage in Germantown, Maryland

• Victoria Gwynn, who lost her brother to a drive-by shooting and, months later, lost her best friend after being shot herself in Louisville, Kentucky

• Selene San Felice, who survived the Capital Gazette shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, that killed five people

• DeAndra Dycus, whose 13-year son became a non-verbal quadriplegic after being shot at a birthday party

• Maggie Montoya, who survived a shooting in a local grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, that killed ten people

• Brandon Wolf, who survived and lost two close friends in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people

• Sen. Dayna Polehanki, who was serving in the Michigan State Legislature when armed protestors stormed the State Capitol

“It is dangerous enough that the Heller decision allows unthinkable forms of gun violence to occur in the home with little recourse for victims. I cannot fathom what another dangerous expansion of the Second Amendment would do to public safety in America, where we’re already fighting an uphill battle against lax gun laws. More guns is not the answer. Guns are the reason I’ve grown up in the shadow of lockdowns and mass shootings in schools, houses of worship, concerts, and anywhere else that life happens. The answer is policies that keep people safe,” said Tabitha Escalante, a junior at Harvard University and part of the March For Our Lives team that filed the amicus brief.

After every horrifying act of violence, whether it’s captured by the front pages or whether it ravages a single family, Americans ask ourselves; when will it end? The Supreme Court in this case could very well say: you have a right not to be shot. We hope they will rule in our favor.