SCOTUS ruling strikes down New York gun law, but what happens in Minnesota?

MINNEAPOLIS — The city once infamously known as “Murderapolis” is on track again for a historically deadly year.

As of June 23, Minneapolis’ crime dashboard reports 42 homicides and 243 people injured by gunshots so far in 2022. In 2021, police reported 93 homicides and 656 gunshot wound victims – the highest in two decades.

“My biggest fear is that we have more guns, that we have more guns in this city, which means we have more violence,” Councilwoman LaTrisha Vetaw, who represents Ward 4 in north Minneapolis, told WCCO. “Right now we’re trying to do everything in this city to stop violence, to interrupt violence.”

Vetaw said she’s even more afraid now after Thursday’s fresh ruling from the Supreme Court of the United States that overturns a New York state law that placed strict restrictions on carrying concealed firearms in public for self defense, finding its requirement that applicants seeking a concealed carry license demonstrate a special need for self-defense is unconstitutional.

In a 6-3 ruling, the high court’s majority argued the Constitution’s right to bear arms extends beyond home self-defense, and states that require residents to show “proper cause” for why they should have an unconditional conceal carry permit is an undue burden.

“There is no historical basis for New York to effectively declare the island of Manhattan a “sensitive place” simply because it is crowded and protected generally by the New York City Police Department,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote, adding that the New York law prevents “law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their right to keep and bear arms in public.”

“Just disgusting,” Vetaw lamented. “The last thing we need is more guns or cities creating policies and the Supreme Court saying ‘We know what’s better for you.'”

President Joe Biden on Thursday echoed that sentiment, and said in a statement he is “deeply disappointed by the decision,” and again urged states to enact changes to their laws to curb gun violence.

“This ruling contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should deeply trouble us all,” the president said. 

The two plaintiffs in the case, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, each applied for carry licenses, but licensing officers denied their applications because they failed to establish proper cause to carry handguns in public. The two were granted “restricted” licenses to carry firearms for target shooting, hunting and outdoor activities.

Along with the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, Nash and Koch challenged the constitutionality of New York’s prohibition on carrying handguns in public and the proper-cause requirement in 2018. A federal district court dismissed their suit, and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision, leaving the licensing regime in place.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, criticized the Supreme Court’s decision, saying on Twitter that it was “outrageous that at a moment of national reckoning on gun violence, the Supreme Court has recklessly struck down a New York law that limits those who can carry concealed weapons.”

Still, justices in the majority countered that it’s not the court’s job to evaluate the “cost and benefits of firearms restrictions” – only judge a case against the text of the United States Constitution.

“Our holding decides nothing about who may lawfully possess a firearm or the requirements that must be met to buy a gun. Nor does it decide anything about the kinds of weapons that people may possess, ” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a concurring opinion. “All that we decide in this case is that the Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding people to carry a gun outside the home for self-defense and that the [New York] Law, which makes that virtually impossible for most New Yorkers, is unconstitutional.”

Indeed, the majority pointed to 43 states in the country that currently enforce laws that the court deems as “certain reasonable, well-defined restrictions.”

This includes Minnesota, where applicants for a Permit to Carry a Pistol (PCP) must be at least 21 years old, must pass a background check, and must complete a firearms safety course. 

Those laws will remain in place, for now, unless the court decides to take up more challenges to gun control laws in the future – another fear for councilwoman Vetaw.

“You just never know what their rulings will be,” she said. 

Melissa Quinn and CBS News contributed to this report

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Jonah Kaplan

Jonah Kaplan is WCCO and CBS News Minnesota’s investigative reporter and has built a strong reputation for his balanced and in-depth coverage of high-impact issues including the economy, immigration, education, public safety, and the military, among others.