** Media Availability **

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 23, 2022

CONTACT: Tracey Miller, 202-660-1628, Tracey.Miller@theacru.org

Media Availability: Lt. Col. Allen West, ACRU Executive Director

ACRU Applauds Supreme Court 2A Decision

Rights Must Never Be Ideologically Redefined and Restricted

Naples, FL — The American Constitutional Rights Union (ACRU) applauds the recent decision of the Supreme Court in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYSRPA) vs. Bruen striking down the state’s abhorrent “may issue” scheme. “May issue” rights are no rights at all. Such policies are an abomination under the Bill of Rights of this Constitutional Republic.

“We’re pleased to have fought for constitutional rights in this case, having submitted an Amicus Brief in support of NYSRPA,” states Allen West, ACRU Executive Director. “The result is another very good decision from a constitutionalist Supreme Court. Our individual Bill of Rights must never be ideologically redefined and restricted. Our very first liberty, freedom of religion, is not relegated to specifically defined places of worship, nor should our natural right to self-defense be relegated to certain locations.”

In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, the United States Supreme Court held that New York’s requirement that a prospective gun holder show proper cause to obtain a license to have and carry a concealed pistol or revolver violates the Second Amendment. The Court noted that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the right to bear arms from infringement by the federal and state governments. Significantly, it rejected an intermediate scrutiny standard of review, which considers whether a regulation is “substantially related to the achievement of an important governmental interest.”

In this case, “two ordinary law-abiding, adult citizens” sought a carry permit for their self-defense. Self-defense is at the core of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The Court observed, “We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officers some special need.” Moreover, as Justice Alito noted in his concurring opinion, in the oral argument, when New York’s solicitor general was asked whether a permit would be issued to someone who worked at night in a dangerous area and pleaded, “There have been a lot of muggings in this area, and I am scared to death,” the solicitor general answered, “in general,” no. Rather, more specificity would be required. As the ACRU put it in its amicus brief, “Law-abiding citizens deserve the right to choose to carry without the blessing of government bureaucrats.”

ACRU President and CEO Lori Roman observes, “The ACRU Amicus Brief detailed numerous arguments later reflected in the Court’s opinion. We’re pleased to have encouraged the court to apply strict scrutiny in this case, which they later did.”

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American Constitutional Rights Union is a non-partisan, non-profit public policy organization dedicated to defending all Americans’ constitutionally protected civil rights.