In the battle to dismantle gun restrictions, raging in America’s courts even as mass shootings become commonplace, a Times’ investigation has found that one study has been deployed by gun rights activists to notch legal victories with far-reaching consequences. Mike McIntire, an investigative reporter for The Times, discusses the study and the person behind it.
From the New York Times, I'm Rachel Abrams.
This is the Daily.
On the previous episode of the show, we talked to a lawyer coming up with creative arguments to get around laws favoring gun rights.
Today, my colleague Mike McIntyre on the mysterious study helping to strengthen gun rights around the country and the person behind that study.
It's Thursday, June 20.
So, Mike, welcome to the show.
Tell me, how did you first get started with this reporting?
So I've been covering gun issues for quite some time, and since the Supreme Court decision in 2022 in a case called New York State Rifle and Pistol association versus Bruin, that really changed the landscape of firearms litigation in the country.
It was probably the most consequential Supreme Court second Amendment case in decades.
And what it did was it really upended our previous understanding of the Second Amendment by doing two things.
One is it, for the first time, found a second amendment right to carry a firearm outside the home, and then secondly, and most importantly, established a new test for gun restrictions and whether or not they're in violation of the Second Amendment.
Essentially, Bruin opened a door for litigants to argue that if a gun is commonly used for self defense, it makes it harder to justify a law that would ban it.
We begin with some breaking news tonight out of the courts, a major blow to gun control.
A federal.
And so, as a result of the Bruin test that was created, you have seen this tsunami of litigation take place across the country.
A Texas judge has ruled that people under felony indictments are allowed to carry guns.
A Virginia judge has struck down federal laws banning the sale of handguns to adults younger than 21.
In Washington state, a ban on high capacity magazines just ruled unconstitutional.
You have many, many court cases happening attempting to knock down these gun restrictions.
A federal judge has overturned California's three decade old ban on assault weapons.