Skip to main content
Statements

Supreme Court Affirms New Yorkers’ Right to Self-Defense

By June 23, 2022No Comments

The New York Young Republican Club welcomes the Supreme Court’s outstanding defense of New Yorkers’ right to self-defense and right to life in New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen.

New York, and New York City especially, face increasing threats from an ever-worsening crime wave thanks to left-wing extremist calls for “abolition” of police, law enforcement, and seemingly all forms of law and order. While activists in the streets have aggravated criminals who now terrorize law-abiding citizens, New York’s state government has prioritized disarming responsible citizens wherever possible, leaving them vulnerable to attack. To acquire a license to carry a handgun for self-defense, concealed from the public eye, law-abiding citizens were required to demonstrate “proper cause” for such a need. The state retained discretion over this amorphous term and, unsurprisingly, used that discretion to further disarm the vulnerable public during a crisis. Criminals, meanwhile, had no trouble arming themselves on the black market.

Today’s ruling, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, states that the proper cause requirement “prevents law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their right to keep and bear arms.”  The right to bear arms, the right to self-defense, and even the right to life, are fundamental to every New Yorker and every American. In contrast with the state government’s disregard for the safety and security of its population, the New York Young Republican Club wholeheartedly supports the Supreme Court’s faithful protection of our neighbors, coworkers, and community.

We look forward to New York’s swift implementation of this ruling and call particular attention to Justice Thomas’s explicit statement that “there is no historical basis for New York to effectively declare the island of Manhattan a ‘sensitive place’ [in which limits on carrying handguns may be applied] simply because it is crowded and protected generally by the New York City Police Department.”

This decision represents another defeat for left-wing extremists. We will continue to win against these anti-American forces as long as we stay on target.

See you at the range.

X