Supreme Court ENDS Gun Permit Rules — Here’s What It Means for All 50 States

The Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen declared that may-issue gun permit systems, which allowed government officials to subjectively deny permits to law-abiding citizens based on their assessment of whether their reason for carrying was compelling enough, are unconstitutional. The Court established that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to carry a handgun outside the home for self-defense, and the government cannot force citizens to prove a special reason to exercise this right. The ruling replaced may-issue systems with shall-issue systems, where law-abiding adults with no disqualifying criminal records must be issued permits if they meet legal requirements. Additionally, the Court introduced the 'text, history, and tradition' test, requiring governments to demonstrate that gun regulations have historical analogs from the founding era (1791) or the 14th Amendment (1868) to be constitutional. This decision fundamentally changed gun laws across all 50 states, with states like New York, California, and New Jersey responding by implementing new restrictions that are currently being challenged in court.