3:27
Justice Stephen Breyer, in a dissent joined by Justices Sotomayor and Kagan, opened his opinion by noting the record of 45,000 Americans killed by firearms in 2020.
\"Many States have tried to address some of the dangers of gun violence just described by passing laws that limit, in various ways, who may purchase, carry, or use firearms of different kinds. The Court today severely burdens States' efforts to do so,\" Breyer writes.
\"Because I cannot agree with the Court's decision to strike New York's law down without allowing for discovery or the development of any evidentiary record, without considering the State's compelling interest in preventing gun violence and protecting the safety of its citizens, and without considering the potentially deadly consequences of its decision, I respectfully dissent.\"
The case, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, involves a state requirement that applicants for concealed carry permits show \"proper cause\" -- a unique need for individual self-protection -- in order to be approved.
Two New York gun owners challenged the century-old law as highly discretionary and unconstitutional. State officials granted a limited license for concealed carry to each, but they were forbidden from possessing a weapon in places frequented by the public.
\"Why isn't it good enough to say, I live in a violent area and I want to be able to defend myself?\" asked Justice Kavanaugh during oral arguments in the case last year. \"That's the real concern, isn't it, with any constitutional right, if it's the discretion of an individual officer, that seems inconsistent with an objective constitutional right.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/gun-rights-supreme-court-ap-jt-220615_1655308230414_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Gun rights groups insist armed, otherwise, law-abiding citizens would not pose an enhanced threat to public safety.
State officials argued its permitting regime is rooted in history and tradition and critical to limiting the threat of gun violence in sensitive places. Seven other U.S. states -- home to more than 80 million Americans -- have similar \"proper cause\" permitting regimes.
Less restrictive concealed carry regimes would \"multiply the number of firearms carried in high-density places,\" New York Solicitor General Barbara Underwood argued at the court last year. \"Proliferation of arms on subways terrifies a lot of people.\"
President Joe Biden, in his first reaction, said he was \"disappointed\" by the ruling which, he said, \"contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should deeply trouble us all.\"
\"In the wake of the horrific attacks in Buffalo and Uvalde, as well as the daily acts of gun violence that do not make national headlines, we must do more as a society -- not less -- to protect our fellow Americans,\" he said in a statement, adding he is \"committed to doing everything in my power to reduce gun violence and make our communities safer.\"
Biden urged states to continue to enact \"commonsense gun laws\" and cited the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who authored the landmark District of Columbia v. Heller decision in 2008, which established the right to have a gun for self-defense in the home, to also say the Second Amendment is not unlimited or \"absolute.\"
New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed action, saying the state is \"closely reviewing our options -- including calling a special session of the legislature.\"
In Washington, the Justice Department said, \"We respectfully disagree with the Court's conclusion that the Second Amendment forbids New York's reasonable requirement that individuals seeking to carry a concealed handgun must show that they need to do so for self-defense. The Department of Justice remains committed to saving innocent lives by enforcing and defending federal firearms laws, partnering with state, local and tribal authorities and using all legally available tools to tackle the epidemic of gun violence plaguing our communities.\"
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