(Long Island, NY) The Supreme Court decided on Monday to deny review of an appeal by a group affilliated with the National Rifle Association and gun industry regarding a municipality’s law banning military-purposed assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines. This decision supports the position of gun safety organizations that laws such as the New York SAFE Act are constitutional.
“This decision confirms what we have long held: that smart gun laws, such as the SAFE Act, are consistent with the Second Amendment,” said Leah Gunn Barrett, Executive Director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV). “The court has re-affirmed that “like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited” and government has a duty to protect public safety by regulating dangerous firearms.
By a vote of 7-2, the court denied a petition that challenged a Highland Park, Illinois law similar to that in New York’s SAFE Act, which banned assault rifles and high capacity magazines. This decision will make it much more difficult for gun industry organizations to repeal aspects of the NY SAFE Act, which not only bans military weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines but also makes it illegal to sell them in New York State. It’s telling that the attorneys for Highland Park used the Supreme Court’s own reasoning in its 2008 Heller vs. D.C. decision in their arguments before the court.”
“We saw again in Oregon and San Bernardino the devastation caused by the increased lethality of these combat weapons,” Barrett said. “The court’s affirmation that there is nothing new in the arguments used by NRA and its affiliates is a step forward in making the lives of New Yorkers and all Americans safer.”
New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is a statewide advocacy group working to reduce gun violence through advocacy and education designed to encourage action, influence public opinion and lead to policy change. With a primary focus on New York State, the organization also advocates at the local and national levels for sensible gun laws, policies and practices that protect New York State residents from gun violence.
- Web: www.nyagv.org
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