The ruling is very simple as it does two things. Firstly, it confirms that you have the right to carry a gun in public and secondly, the last of the hold out states like Maryland and New Jersey who’s carry permits required a good reason can’t require a good reason any more. That’s it. They can still demand training, fees etc but can’t demand you show a good reason. That’s it.
Of the 50 states, 42 of those states are Shall Issue or Constitutional Carry and in most cases, both of those. Most of America lives in those 42 states. The last of the 8 states use a May Issue system. Some of those states have counties that are fairly permissive on issuance and there’s a high chance you’ll get a permit but it's dependent on the location. The problem is mostly with a few of those 8 states like New York, Maryland, New Jersey and Hawaii and a few restrictive counties who simply never or almost never issue everyday citizens permits for general self defense reasons. The ruling forces those states into a Shall Issue system instead of a May Issue system. They can still deny a permit to violent people or persons with mental health issues and are still subject to background checks.
Why is this a good thing? Let me give you an example. Someone I know is a realtor who has a carry permit in a Shall Issue state for specific instances. In Maryland or New Jersey, she wouldn’t be issued a permit because she can’t show a good reason. She has a good generalized reason and if she explained that reason to the average, everyday person they would likely agree it's common sense but she can’t provide tangible evidence to prove it such as court documents or police records and thus these states would deny her a carry permit.
In reality, this ruling does affirm the in-public thing but it’s mostly focused on impacting those last few political regions where the ruling class doesn’t want you to carry a gun.
No, there won’t be Wild West gun fights on every street corner. It's not going to be Gunfight at the OK Corral (which BTW was a failure of gun control). I've had a few people say that to my face over the last 12 years and it's NEVER come true. We’ve had something like 30 years of Shall Issue permits and the Wild West argument hasn’t turned in to a thing. Making NY state fall in line won’t change that suddenly making it true. If you want to know what'll happen, take a look at Illinois after they started implementing a Shall Issue system after a similar court ruling. People got permits and almost immediately started defending themselves from criminals. It's been a big win.
That said, there is a real probability that the mechanisms this case operates on will have a major impact on gun laws like magazine limitations and the Left's favorite boogie man, Bans on Features and Accessories for Common Rifles also known as an Assault Weapons Ban. I say this as the text of the Opinion makes room for "common" guns. At 10's of millions, I would say that semi-auto, centerfire rifles with Features are common.
What I am hoping for is a new fight in the court system that focuses on these Gun Feature Bans that ultimately results in NFA Title II weapons like Short Barrel Rifles and Shotguns and hopefully silencers being removed from the NFA. Interestingly, there are already cases in the system that we're waiting on this case to be argued.
Fundamentally, this is a HUGE blow to Controllers here in the US. Hawaii, New Jersey and California are already getting applications for permits and have noted their head folks have instructed permitting agencies to by-pass the old Need requirement. New York is acting like a spoiled brat so we'll see how long it takes them to comply.
