Former President Donald Trump has claimed a role in the decision taken by the Supreme Court on Thursday to strike down a 100-year-old New York gun law.
"Elections have consequences. I promised to appoint Judges and Justices that would stand up for the Constitution. Today, the Supreme Court upheld the Second Amendment Right of all Americans," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
— Posting Trump’s Truths (@PostTrumpTruths) June 24, 2022
The New York law limited the carrying of concealed guns in public, saying it required a license given only to people who can prove "proper cause," such as "a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community."
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Thursday that this "licensing regime violates the Constitution" by requiring an additional special need for self-defense, a right protected by the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.
All six conservative justices—John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett—voted to strike down the New York law.
Trump is responsible for the current conservative supermajority in the court, having appointed Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett during his term of office.
The ruling has again proven the power of the supermajority to set the national agenda, as it will force five other states —California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey— to rewrite and fortify their concealed-carry laws.
Gavin Newsom, California's Democratic governor, described the Supreme Court's action as "a dark day in America," later announcing that the state was "ready with a bill that will be heard next week to update and strengthen our public-carry law."
A dark day in America.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 23, 2022
This is a dangerous decision from a court hell bent on pushing a radical ideological agenda and infringing on the rights of states to protect our citizens from being gunned down in our streets, schools, and churches.
Shameful.
Only hours after the Supreme Court ruling, Democrats in California have moved to pass legislation that would ban concealed firearms in courthouses and schools and require applicants for permits to be assessed on whether they are dangerous to other people.
The Supreme Court's decision has disappointed many people across the country, coming just weeks after mass shootings at an elementary school in Uvalde and a grocery store in Buffalo—and at the same time as the Senate passed its first bill improving gun control regulation for 28 years.
President Joe Biden was among those to express disappointment at the Supreme Court. "This ruling contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should deeply trouble us all," he said.
"I urge states to continue to enact and enforce common-sense laws to make their citizens and communities safer from gun violence. As the late Justice Scalia recognized, the Second Amendment is not absolute. For centuries, states have regulated who may purchase or possess weapons, the types of weapons they may use, and the places they may carry those weapons. And the courts have upheld these regulations."
Update 06/24/2022 4:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated to add extra information.
