By: Cedric Wu
The US Supreme Court recently overturned a New York law that greatly restricts gun usage in an extremely controversial decision.
The decision comes amid an obvious political division regarding gun control. The six conservative judges, making up the majority of the court, ruled that Americans have the right to carry firearms in public.
The three liberal justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer, ruled against the majority due to the various dangerous implications of overturning such an important law. Consequences from overturning this law include shootings and self-harm which could result in death.
According to an article written in BBC News, Anthony Zurcher, Bernd Debusmann Jr and Boer Deng, three reporters for BBC state that “More than 390m guns are owned by civilians in the US. In 2020 alone, more than 45,000 Americans died from firearms-related injuries including homicides and suicides.”
Despite the recent mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, the Supreme Court continues to pass a steady flow of rulings that loosen the restriction on gun use. Their judgment is seemingly based on the broad interpretation of the second amendment, an amendment regarding the right to bear arms.
The Supreme Court’s decision is also deeply concerning in terms of public safety. President Joe Biden said he was “deeply disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s decision, which he said “contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should trouble us all.”
The decision has led to obvious opposition among the United States. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says that he will try his best to find other ways to restrict gun access and usage through tightening the process of purchasing firearms. Adams states “We cannot allow New York to become the wild, wild west.”
The senate meanwhile has passed a national gun bill that would restrict gun usages, although the bill will first have to clear the US house of representatives before going to Biden’s desk for his signature.
Link to article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61915237