New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen

Summary

The Court held that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect an ordinary, law-abiding citizen's right to carry a handgun publicly for self-defense. It rejected the lower courts' two-step framework employing means-end scrutiny and required the government to justify firearm regulations by demonstrating consistency with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation. Applying that approach, the Court held New York's proper-cause requirement unconstitutional because it prevented citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from carrying handguns in public.