They wasted no time. Just days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York restrictions on carrying guns in public, gun rights supporters cited the high court’s decision in lawsuits over California’s assault weapons ban and a San Jose law requiring firearm owners to buy insurance, among others.
Though assault weapons and gun insurance might seem to be different issues than permitting concealed firearms, advocates on both sides of the gun debate say the high court’s far-reaching ruling gives defenders of the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms more ammunition to fight a wide range of gun laws.
“There’s clearly a very important new precedent, and the higher court will want the lower courts to apply it,” said UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, a firearms regulation expert.
