The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen is before the United States Supreme Court, and the Court is expected to make a decision in the case sometime this spring. The issue in the case is whether the state of New York’s denial of petitioners’ applications for concealed carry licenses for self-defense violated the Second Amendment. In New York, individuals must apply for a license to carry a firearm, but New York has a “may issue” licensing scheme, which means that the government can deny the license even if you are otherwise able to lawfully possess a firearm.

This sort of “may issue” licensing scheme is subject to the whims of public officials and will be denied without showing a “special need” beyond the general desire to have a firearm for self-defense. The Court is also likely to decide what sort of review should be applied to Second Amendment challenges. If you are interested in following this case, SCOTUSblog has a timeline of the filings and court action on this case. You can also checkout my discussion of the case here, here, and here (the videos are embedded below as well). You can also view the transcript of the oral argument here.