National Urban League Denounces Supreme Court Decision on Gun Safety, Urges Immediate Action on Gun Safety Legislation

NEW YORK, June 23, 2022— National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial today said the Supreme Court decision invalidating New York’s common-sense restrictions on concealed firearms is deeply flawed, rooted in political expediency rather than legal theory, and will contribute to countless additional deaths by gunfire

“If the Supreme Court actively were seeking out a way to make the nation more volatile and dangerous, it could not have devised a more damaging scenario,” Morial said. “In the wake of the horrific tragedies in Uvalde and Buffalo, a rational and humane nation should be searching for solutions to protect its citizens, not deliberately putting targets on their backs.”

The National Urban League and NAACP Legal Defense Fund last year filed an amicus brief in support of New York State’s position in the case, NYS Rifle and Pistol Assoc. v. Bruen, pointing out that Black people – especially young Black men — disproportionally suffer from injury or death due to gun violence.

“Studies confirm that not only does the likelihood of handgun violence increase where there are more concealed handguns on the street, but widespread gun possession on public streets often escalates what would otherwise be non-lethal disputes into deadly assaults,” the brief noted. “As highlighted by numerous high-profile incidents in recent years, many people of color have died at the hands of white people who, out of fear or other biases, use concealed firearms against minority victims. The Court should not interpret the Second Amendment to inhibit jurisdictions’ longstanding authority to impose reasonable regulations on concealed carry for public safety.”

Morial said today’s decision flies in the face of the 10th Amendment, which grants states the authority to make laws for public health and safety.  

“The facts are clear: where there are more guns, there are more gun deaths,” Morial said, “New York – along with California, New Jersey, Maryland, Hawaii, and Massachusetts -- has one of the lowest gun-death rates of any state, due in part to the very concealed-carry guardrail that the Supreme Court has just obliterated.”

Morial said today’s decision should serve as impetus for Congress to enact comprehensive firearm safety legislation.