The U.S. Supreme Court delivered another victory in the fight for gun control on Tuesday by turning away a challenge of California’s waiting period for firearms purchases.
Basic Safety Law Upheld
Gun rights activists have long worked to strike down such legislation although it is intended to save lives. The 10-day waiting period in California was imposed specifically to deter those purchasing the weapons from using them in impulsive suicide attempts or other instances of violence.
Those arguing against waiting period said that it violates gun owners’ rights to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment, and the challenge sought to invalidate the waiting period only for those who already owned guns and passed a background check.
The San Francisco U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld California’s law in 2016.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly refused to step into the debate over gun rights, and for good reason – states have every right to impose laws that protect citizens’ well-being. The decision was particularly poignant following the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida on Wednesday that resulted in the death of 17 students.
Notably, the shooter who has admitted to the Parkland massacre was already in possession of multiple firearms.
A Second Case Snubbed
According to Reuters, the justices also declined to take up a separate gun case involving an NRA challenge to California’s refusal to lower fees on firearms sales. The state instead uses some of the money accrued from the fees to track down weapons that are owned illegally.
Eric Tirschwell, litigation director for Everytown for Gun Safety, said this about the decision not to hear the case:
“Once again the Supreme Court has refused to entertain the gun lobby’s extreme interpretation of the Second Amendment. The courts are continuing to recognize that states have the authority to pass reasonable public safety laws to protect their citizens from gun violence.”
The United States continues to have some of the laxest gun laws in the world, and in turn, a staggering amount of gun deaths are reported in the United States every year. In the wake of last week’s shooting, students across the nation have begun calling on politicians to enact sweeping gun control legislation.
Justice Clarence Thomas was the only justice to dissent the decision to reject the case.
This isn’t the first challenge to gun control SCOTUS refused to take up. Just two months ago, they refused to hear a case out of Maryland. Check out the details here:
Featured Image via YouTube Video.
