Similarly, Alito proved uncharacteristically eager to divine the ostensibly bigoted intent behind New YorkвЂ™s law. Justice Clarence Thomas retorted thatВ Fletcher sought to вЂњfocus a lot on western states, but the West is different.вЂќ Again, nope: In addition to western states, Fletcher identified southern states like Arkansas and northern states like Massachusetts with historical analogs to New YorkвЂ™s law.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh tried to counter by asserting that residents could carry a gun openly, but he was wrong as Fletcher explained, these laws banned both open and concealed carry. Later, when principal deputy Solicitor General Brian Fletcher came to the lectern, he debunked Clement in brutal fashion: Fletcher identified laws in Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Alabama, that imposed draconian restrictions on concealed carry in the 1800s. вЂњTo carry the arms,вЂќ citizens вЂњhad to be subject to the approval of the local sheriff or the local mayor.вЂќ Why, she wondered, вЂњis a вЂgood causeвЂ™ requirement any different than that discretion that was given to local officials to deny the carrying of firearms to people that they thought it was inappropriate?вЂќ The best Clement could muster was that he didnвЂ™t вЂњreadвЂќ the вЂњhistorical examplesвЂќ the вЂњsame wayвЂќ Sotomayor did. вЂњMany of the laws conditioned or retained the right of the state to decide which people were eligibleвЂќ to carry concealed guns, Sotomayor said. After Clement insisted that New York could still ban guns in вЂњsensitive places,вЂќ Justice Elena Kagan (who once shot a deer while hunting with Antonin Scalia) pressed for examples: What about the New York City subway? The NYU campus? Crowded stadiums? Packed protests? The conservative justices mostly tossed softballs, while the liberal justices launched a fusillade of questions about the constitutional and practical consequences of his position.

So when Paul Clement, arguing on behalf of the petitioners, began attacking New YorkвЂ™s вЂњgood causeвЂќ rule on Wednesday, the court promptly cleaved along partisan lines. Both justices were chosen, in part, because of their past opinions endorsing a broad vision of the right to bear arms. But his vote no longer matters with Barrett and Kavanaugh on the court. Chief Justice John Roberts seemed eager to avoid Second Amendment cases, if only for fear of backlash. BarrettвЂ™s predecessor, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, voted against gun rights, while KavanaughвЂ™s predecessor, Justice Anthony Kennedy, demanded language limiting the scope of Heller. Lower courts have been split over concealed carry restrictions for years, yet the Supreme Court did not step in until 2021-after Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh had joined the bench. The timing, though, is not a coincidence.

Weapons of the third era