The Second Amendment right…encompasses “being armed and ready for offensive or defensive action in a case of conflict with another person.”
In a move designed to try and get the Supreme Court of the United States to revisit the concept of whether the 2nd Amendment applies to carrying of firearms openly outside the home, Florida Carry Inc., a 2nd Amendments rights group in Florida, today has written asking the Court to hear this case.
Dale Norman was a new Concealed Carry License holder that left his home and walked down the street with his handgun unknowingly exposed. He was subsequently arrested for violating Florida’s prohibition on Open Carrying of a firearm. Mr. Norman was convicted in court, it was appealed to the Fourth District Court of Appeals of Florida, and the conviction was upheld by that court. It was then appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, which also upheld the conviction in March of this year.
Florida Carry Inc. has been defending Mr. Norman and has decided to take the case and ask SCOTUS to hear the arguments. Reading the Florida Supreme Court’s decision, including the dissenting opinion of Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles Canady, it is interesting to note,
The Second Amendment right…encompasses “being armed and ready for offensive or defensive action in a case of conflict with another person.” This is reinforced by the statement in McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010)…that Heller “held that the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense.” The “individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation,” Heller, [is] to “be armed and ready for offensive or defensive action in a case of conflict with another person.”
With the recent decision of the SCOTUS to not hear the second amendment case of Peruta v. California, it will be interesting to see if the Supreme Court will take this case instead. In his dissent to the Court’s decision not to hear Peruta, Justice Clarence Thomas said, “I find it extremely improbable that the Framers understood the Second Amendment to protect little more than carrying a gun from the bedroom to the kitchen.” Justice Neil Gorsuch also joined the dissent.
If the Court decides to hear this case and it rules in favor, it could mean a huge decision for firearms rights, but that is a big ‘if’ considering the recent cases that the Supreme Court has refused to hear. We will know soon enough.
