By: Andrea Yan

Last Thursday, a Supreme Court ruling expanded gun rights in the US. They overruled a New York law that restricted guns, citing that it violated the second amendment of the US Constitution.

Some New Yorkers are not taking this decision lightly. New York City Mayor, Eric Adams, says he will look into other ways to restrict guns, such as stiffening the application process and banning firearms only in certain locations, such as places where crime rates are high in order to prevent more transgressions.

This comes during a time where the political world is severely divided over the issue of gun violence, made more tense by the mass shootings in Ulvade, Texas and Buffalo, New York. Liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, in his dissent, noted that “[s]ince the start of this year alone, there have been already 277 reported mass shootings- an average of more than one per day.”

President Joe Biden says that the Supreme Court’s decision “contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should trouble us all.” This continues a pattern of policies that have expanded gun rights, including the ruling that the right to have a gun at home for purposes of self-defense is protected by the Second Amendment. These changes made could be important in influencing the midterm elections this November.

This decision also makes a path for similar restrictions in Maryland, California, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Massachusetts. With the Republican majority on the Supreme Court, it will be very easy for the Justices to strike down the restrictions in those states, just as they did with New York.

This decision by the Supreme Court is in contrast with a decision made by the Senate. The Senate passed the first gun control bill in almost 3 decades on Thursday night, by a majority vote of 65-33 with measures such as background checks on gun buyers. The bill will have to go through the US House of Representatives before arriving at President Biden’s desk for his signature. This bill is one of the first bipartisan gun control bills that has been passed by the Senate, and will pave the way for more bipartisan agreements in the future, for all things, not just gun control.

The Supreme court ruling has the ability to change policies in places other than New York in the future. The ruling of the Supreme Court is very controversial. The mass shootings in Ulvade and Buffalo highlighted the need for gun control bills. The Senate, on the other hand, passed a bill restricting firearms, paving the way for more bipartisan agreements. As lawmakers move forward on the issue of gun control, the Supreme Court is likely to expand gun rights further than just New York.

Link to article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61915237