Breyer said the ruling leaves states without the ability to address 'significant dangers.' Liberal Justice Stephen Breyer wrote in dissent that the court expanded gun rights without coming to grips with the 'nature or severity' of firearms violence in a country with more guns per person than any other. 'In the wake of the horrific attacks in Buffalo and Uvalde, as well as the daily acts of gun violence that do not make national headlines, we must do more as a society - not less - to protect our fellow Americans.' 'This ruling contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should deeply trouble us all,' Biden said. President Joe Biden, who has called gun violence a national embarrassment, condemned the decision.
Just in recent weeks, 19 children and two teachers were killed on May 24 at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and 10 people were slain on May 14 at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
Gun rights, held dear by many Americans and promised by the country's 18th century founders, are a contentious issue in a nation with high levels of firearms violence including numerous mass shootings. Thomas wrote: 'We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officers some special need.'
