On Jun 23, 2022 at 12:43:53 PM PDT, "Ed Stasiak" <
edstas...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Holy moly, Justice Alito filed a concurring opinion in the Bruen case in which
he took a fat shit all over Stephen Breyer's dissent:
In light of what we have actually held, it is hard to see what legitimate
purpose can possibly be served by most of the dissent's lengthy introductory
section. See post, at 1–8 (opinion of BREYER, J.). Why, for example, does the
dissent think it is relevant to recount the mass shootings that have occurred
in recent years? Does the dissent think that laws like New York's prevent or
deter such atrocities? Will a person bent on carrying out a mass shooting be
stopped if he knows that it is illegal to carry a handgun outside the home?
And how does the dissent account for the fact that one of the mass shootings
near the top of its list took place in Buffalo? The New York law at issue in
this case obviously did not stop that perpetrator.
What is the relevance of statistics about the use of guns to commit suicide?
Does the dissent think that a lot of people who possess guns in their homes
will be stopped or deterred from shooting themselves if they cannot lawfully
take them outside?
The dissent cites statistics about the use of guns in domestic disputes, but
it does not explain why these statistics are relevant to the question
presented in this case. How many of the cases involving the use of a gun in a
domestic dispute occur outside the home, and how many are prevented by laws
like New York's?
The dissent cites statistics on children and adolescents killed by guns, but
what does this have to do with the question whether an adult who is licensed
to possess a handgun may be prohibited from carrying it outside the home? Our
decision, as noted, does not expand the categories of people who may lawfully
possess a gun, and federal law generally forbids the possession of a handgun
by a person who is under the age of 18, 18 U. S. C. §§922(x)(2)–(5), and bars
the sale of a handgun to anyone under the age of 21, §§922(b)(1), (c)(1).1
The dissent cites the large number of guns in private hands-- nearly 400
million-- but it does not explain what this statistic has to do with the
question whether a person who already has the right to keep a gun in the home
for self-defense is likely to be deterred from acquiring a gun by the
knowledge that the gun cannot be carried outside the home. And while the
dissent seemingly thinks that the ubiquity of guns and our country's high
level of gun violence provide reasons for sustaining the New York law, the
dissent appears not to understand that it is these very facts that cause
law-abiding citizens to feel the need to carry a gun for self-defense.
No one apparently knows how many of the 400 million privately held guns are in
the hands of criminals, but there can be little doubt that many muggers and
rapists are armed and are undeterred by the Sullivan Law. Each year, the New
York City Police Department (NYPD) confiscates thousands of guns, and it is
fair to assume that the number of guns seized is a fraction of the total
number held unlawfully. The police cannot disarm every person who acquires a
gun for use in criminal activity; nor can they provide bodyguard protection
for the State's nearly 20 million residents or the 8.8 million people who live
in New York City. Some of these people live in high-crime neighborhoods. Some
must traverse dark and dangerous streets in order to reach their homes after
work or other evening activities. Some are members of groups whose members
feel especially vulnerable. And some of these people reasonably believe that
unless they can brandish or, if necessary, use a handgun in the case of
attack, they may be murdered, raped, or suffer some other serious injury.
Ordinary citizens frequently use firearms to protect themselves from criminal
attack. According to survey data, defensive firearm use occurs up to 2.5
million times per year. (Brief for Law Enforcement Groups et al. as Amici
Curiae 5.) A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report commissioned by
former President Barack Obama reviewed the literature surrounding firearms use
and noted that "[s]tudies that directly assessed the effect of actual
defensive uses of guns... have found consistently lower injury rates among
gun-using crime victims compared with victims who used other self-protective
strategies." [Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, Priorities
for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-Related Violence 15–16 (2013)
(referenced in Brief for Independent Women's Law Center as Amicus Curiae
19–20)].