Gun reform advocates reacted with outrage to the supreme court decision overturning a New York state handgun law that placed strict restrictions on carrying concealed firearms outside the home.
The decision could pave the way to allow almost any law-abiding American to carry hidden guns in public places, even as levels of gun deaths rise in the US.
The president, Joe Biden, said he was “deeply disappointed”.
“This ruling contradicts both common sense and the constitution, and should deeply trouble us all,” Biden said, urging states to pass gun control legislation.
“I call on all Americans to across the country to make their voices heard on gun safety. Lives are on the line.”
New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, condemned the ruling as “reprehensible”, adding that “it could place millions of New Yorkers in harm’s way”.
“I’m prepared to call the legislature back to deal with this. We are looking at dates,” Hochul said.
Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit that advocates for gun control, put out a statement condemning the decision.
“We’re currently doing a careful reading of the entire decision in NYSRPA v Bruen and will give more detailed analysis later today,” it said on Twitter. “But the fact that the court ruled against New York makes it clear that it chose to put lives at risk and showed indifference to public safety.”
New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, also commented on social media, noting that her office was current reviewing the decision and would “continue to do everything in our power to protect New Yorkers from gun violence and preserve our state’s commonsense gun laws”.
Many conservatives praised the decision as a protection of the right to bear arms. Lauren Boebert, a Republican representative from Colorado, celebrated with a tweet: “Scotus just struck down New York’s unconstitutional gun law! Glory!”
The US House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, also praised the decision, tweeting: “While states like NY have tried to restrict your Constitutional 2nd Amendment right through burdensome laws and regulations, today’s Supreme Court ruling rightfully ensures the right of all law-abiding Americans to defend themselves without unnecessary government interference.”
The supreme court’s opinion comes with the country still reeling from several mass shootings.
Last month, an 18-year-old with a legally purchased assault-style rifle allegedly shot and killed 10 people in a racist attack on a supermarket in a majority Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York.
Less than two weeks later, another 18-year-old broke into Robb elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and shot and killed 19 children and two adults, before being killed by law enforcement officers.
