Proper cause to carry concealed is a common requirement of state or local jurisdictions if you need to apply for permission to exercise that right, but the US Supreme Court just declared it unconstitutional.
The case is New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
[Justice Clarence] Thomas writes that “New York’s proper-cause requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense.”
“It is undisputed that petitioners Koch and Nash—two ordinary, law-abiding, adult citizens—are part of ‘the people’ whom the Second Amendment protects,” Thomas said further, citing Heller. “And no party disputes that handguns are weapons ‘in common use’ today for self-defense,” he wrote.
“The Court has little difficulty concluding also that the plain text of the Second Amendment protects Koch’s and Nash’s proposed course of conduct—carrying handguns publicly for self-defense. Nothing in the Second Amendment’s text draws a home/public distinction with respect to the right to keep and bear arms, and the definition of ‘bear’ naturally encompasses public carry. Moreover, the Second Amendment guarantees an “individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation,’… and confrontation can surely take place outside the home.”
Prior to this decision, “The only way for New Yorkers to obtain an unrestricted permit was to prove that they had “proper cause” to do so. A person had to “demonstrate a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community.”
“The constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense is not ‘a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees,'” the Court states, citing McDonald.
“The exercise of other constitutional rights does not require individuals to demonstrate to government officers some special need. The Second Amendment right to carry arms in public for selfdefense is no different. New York’s proper-cause requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their right to keep and bear arms in public.”
It is a big win for liberty, so we should expect a fresh round of narratives about court-packing, especially with Dobbs v Jackson still waiting to see the final draft light of day.
