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Opinion | Gunfight at the Supreme Court (Published 2019)
A push to expand the Second Amendment produces some judicial contortions.
Gunfight at the Supreme Court
A push to expand the Second Amendment produces some judicial contortions.
By Linda Greenhouse
Contributing Opinion Writer
Chief Justice John Roberts, left, and Associate Justices Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch in the House Chamber during President Trump’s State of the Union address in February.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
I don’t know how the Second Amendment case the Supreme Court heard this week will turn out, but I do know this: If the subject weren’t so serious, the case in its current posture, with substantial doubt about whether there is even a dispute left for the court to decide, would be downright funny. For a window into the dynamics of today’s Supreme Court, look no further than the transcript of the argument in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. City of New York.
Granted, we have to take our amusement where we can find it during these dark days. But who couldn’t at least crack a smile at the girls team versus boys team contest on display, with the three female justices beating back the gun club’s argument that a constitutional wrong remained to be remedied while Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch creatively battled the obvious conclusion that because the plaintiffs got what they wanted when New York City amended a regulation to which they objected, the case is moot.
