Supreme Court lets Circuit Court split decisions stand.
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Major Second Amendment CaseIn a major announcement this morning, the Supreme Court refused to hear Drake v. Jerejian, a case challenging the constitutionality of New Jersey's arbitrary rules governing the right to carry handguns in public for purposes of self-defense.
At issue was New Jersey's Handgun Permit Law, which requires applicants to prove they have a "justifiable need" before local officials will issue a handgun carry permit.
By refusing to hear the Drake appeal today, the Supreme Court left that ruling by the 3rd Circuit undisturbed. Yet in 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, in Moore v. Madigan (another case brought by Alan Gura), reached the opposite conclusion, voting to strike down Illinois' blanket ban on carrying guns in public. "The Supreme Court has decided that the amendment confers a right to bear arms for self-defense, which is as important outside the home as inside," the 7th Circuit held.
The Supreme Court should have tackled that circuit split head on. Because it failed to do so, the Second Amendment now means one thing for responsible gun owners living in New Jersey and another thing for those living in Illinois.
http://reason.com/blog/2014/05/05/supreme-court-refuses-to-hear-major-seco
