The Supreme Court Fails U.S. Citizens by Not Hearing an Appeal Over the Second Amendment

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the appeal of a New Jersey gun owner in Drake v. Jerejian, means the state may continue to deny most residents permits to carry a handgun outside their homes. The high court’s decision to deny a hearing, issued without comment Monday, apparently allows other states to also require, as New Jersey law does, the demonstration of a “justifiable need” to carry a firearm outside the home before a permit is issued. Critics say the law grants officials virtually unlimited discretion over a citizen’s right to bear arms. New Jersey state Senator Jeff Van Drew, who wants to amend the law, says the permits are rarely granted.

“You have to fear for your life, that you’re going to be killed, in essence,” said Van Drew. “It’s virtually never done.”

The rejection of the appeal came despite the fact that, as reported at thenewamerican.com, 19 states and 34 members of Congress joined the petition for the Supreme Court to review the ruling of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the New Jersey statute. Absent the confirmation of a broader application of the Second Amendment right to bear arms, the right could be threatened by federal as well as state statutes, observed Wyoming Governor Matt Mead. “If the current [Third Circuit] decision stands, states providing greater protections than New Jersey under the Second Amendment may be preempted by future federal action,” Mead warned when his state joined the suit in February. ….”

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