Democratic US states up in arms against Supreme Court arms ruling

DAY

'A dark day for America': From Los Angeles to New York, left-leaning Democratic states are up in arms against Thursday's ruling by the majority conservative Supreme Court, which upholds the right to bear arms outside the home. 

Gavin Newsom, governor of California, the most populous state in the United States, lambasted on Twitter a “shameful” and “dangerous” decision: a judgment of the highest American court which risks “encouraging a radical ideological program while restricting “the rights of states to protect their citizens (from risk) of being shot on the streets, at school, at church”.

Kathy Hochul, Democratic Governor of the he state of New York (fourth in the country, with 20 million inhabitants) denounced an “absolutely scandalous” decision and, it too, a “dark day” for the supporters of stricter legislation on possession and carrying weapons.

The Supreme Court in Washington, whose majority of justices are conservative, has struck down 'restrictions' on carrying weapons under a New York state law, even as America faces a surge in crime in major cities and a chilling series of mass killings, including two in May in Buffalo (10 African-Americans killed) and at a school in Texas (21 killed, including 19 children).

This New York law attacked by the decision of the Supreme Court limits since 1913 the issuance of permits to carry concealed weapons to people who have reason to believe that they may have to defend themselves, for example because of their profession or threats against them.

Cat and mouse

Apart from California and New York, led by Democrats, the so-called “liberal” states (which can be translated by rather “classified on the left” and “progressive”, editor's note) of Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey of Hawaii and the District of Columbia, that is to say the capital Washington, require such a license to port of arms.

In California, the issuance of this sesame depends on the local sheriffs and police, depending on the counties and their political color.

In concrete terms, it is easier to obtain a permit in a rural Republican county than in in San Francisco, one of the most “progressive” cities in the United States.

The Supreme Court's shock decision does not immediately overturn local laws restricting the carrying of weapons, but will certainly cause multiple lawsuits.

“There will be a game of cat and mouse that will be interesting to watch” between “progressives” and conservatives, predicts Jeffrey Fagan, professor of law at Columbia in New York.

Keechant Sewell, The powerful New York City Police (NYPD) chief, tasked with implementing tough-guy Mayor Eric Adams' anti-gun agenda, has previously warned that anyone “unlawfully carrying a gun in New York City will be arrested” .

Near Washington, the state of Maryland has also warned through the voice of its attorney general that its very restrictive gun laws “have demonstrated a reduction in violence” .

The elected official promised to “continue to fight to protect the safety of the people of Maryland”.

Similarly in the small state of Massachusetts: Attorney General Maura Healey pointed out that this New England state “has one of the lowest gun death rates in the country, because we know that strict laws save lives”.