So far, courts have upheld the laws that proponents say save lives and opponents say violate their Second Amendment rights under the Constitution.
The June 23, 2022, U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New York State Pistol and Rifle Association v. Bruen has some courts reconsidering what truly constitutes a Second Amendment case.
Under the Bruen decision, gun laws must fit the plain text of the Second Amendment and match a similar law from the time the amendment was ratified to be ruled constitutional.
Prior to Bruen, courts used a means balancing test to determine whether the law’s intended purpose violated the amendment.
Since the ruling, many past decisions, such as licensing procedures and prohibitions on carrying firearms, have been thrown out.
This new test has gun safety advocates resurrecting waiting periods for gun purchases, which largely died out after the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) was put in place as a means of reducing deaths involving guns.
Currently, 10 states—Hawaii, California, Washington, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Florida, Illinois, and Maine—and the District of Columbia require waiting periods for firearms purchases.
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10/19/2023
U.S. District Courts in Colorado and New Mexico have upheld the waiting periods in those states. However, the New Mexico