Bruen is a major change to Second Amendment jurisprudence and could eventually lead to large-scale changes in the U.S. firearm regulatory landscape. Nevertheless, key ambiguities and contradictions in the decision and its concurring opinions lead the authors to conclude that sharp departures from the regulatory regimes currently pursued by states are unlikely until new cases are heard by the Supreme Court that resolve those ambiguities.
Download Free Electronic Document
| 0.6 MB |
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience. |
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen is a major change to Second Amendment jurisprudence and could eventually lead to large-scale changes in the U.S. firearm regulatory landscape. Nevertheless, key ambiguities and contradictions in the decision and its concurring opinions lead the authors to conclude that sharp departures from the regulatory regimes currently pursued by states are unlikely until new cases are heard by the Supreme Court that resolve those ambiguities. Therefore, states wishing to impose restrictive firearm regulations will continue to be able to do so, though sometimes in modified ways, and those wishing to make their laws more permissive will similarly find arguments under Bruen to support that course. Although the Bruen decision limits the role of science and contemporary evidence in influencing how firearm regulations are evaluated, there are some limited empirical questions for which research could still help inform future court decisions on the regulation of firearms.
Related Products
Research conducted by
This research was sponsored by Arnold Ventures and conducted in the Justice Policy Program within RAND Social and Economic Well-Being .
This publication is part of the RAND Corporation Perspective series. RAND Perspectives present expert insights on timely policy issues. All RAND Perspectives undergo peer review to ensure high standards for quality and objectivity.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions .
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.
Add new comment