Does the Second Amendment Make Gun Politics Obsolete?

Abstract

The authors briefly lay out the Supreme Court’s recent Second Amendment jurisprudence and what they identify as the increasing constitutionalization of the gun debate—what was once purely an issue for politics has increasingly become one for courts. Although the gun debate remains a matter for elected officials as well as judges, recent Supreme Court decisions have circumscribed the role of gun politics and policy. Exploring this Term’s decision New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), the authors demonstrate how its historical method makes the role of modern evidence even more obscure. Finally, the authors explore how the legal framework that Bruen creates may constitutionalize the gun debate in ways that are unequally responsive to different modes of public political expression.

Keywords: Bruen, Supreme Court, Second Amendment, Firearms, Guns