The state of New York has been ordered to pay almost half a million dollars to the National Rifle Association over a case that the Supreme Court ruled on last year.
The case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, was decided on by the Supreme Court in June 2022, with the 6-3 decision stating that New York’s long-standing concealed carry law violated the Second Amendment of the Constitution. A New York judge has since ordered the state to pay the NRA $447,700.82 in legal fees, as the NRA was a party in the Supreme Court’s case.
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“The NRA regards the $447K award in the NYSRPA V. Bruen case as a pivotal victory, a symbol that justice is definitively on our side,” Michael Jean, NRA’s director of the Office of Litigation Counsel, told Fox News Digital. “This triumph in Bruen has fortified the Second Amendment in an unprecedented manner, and we continue our unrelenting fight to uphold our rights and challenge those who endeavor to infringe upon them.”
However, the payment will only cover “a third” of the group’s legal expenses, according to Jean, who thanked those who helped pay for the case’s legal fees. Jean also stated that “New York refuses to fully compensate.”
The Supreme Court’s decision, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, stated that “the constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense is not ‘a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees.” Thomas was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Thomas added that there is “no other constitutional right” that requires a person to demonstrate some sort of special need to government officers in order to obtain a concealed carry permit.
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Then-Justice Stephen Breyer argued for the minority of justices that the Second Amendment provides states the ability to “take account of the serious problems posed by gun violence.” Breyer was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.
“Many States have tried to address some of the dangers of gun violence … by passing laws that limit, in various ways, who may purchase, carry, or use firearms of different kinds. The Court today severely burdens States’ efforts to do so,” Breyer wrote.
Original Location: New York ordered to pay over $447,000 to NRA in legal fees over Supreme Court decision
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