The following statement can be attributed Liz Seaton, Policy Director, National LGBTQ Task Force:
“For all who care about ending hate violence and gun violence, today the Supreme Court issued a devastating ruling in the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. The case is about enforcing reasonable gun regulations adopted by the State of New York that required a person to show proper cause to get a license to carry a concealed handgun by showing a special need for self-protection. Court conservatives reversed the Second Circuit Court’s decision and ruled that the U.S. Constitution’s Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect people’s ‘right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense.’”
“The Task Force joined Lambda Legal and the law firm of Williams & Connolly LLP’s amicus brief in this case because it detailed the use of guns in hate violence against LGBTQ people, especially transgender and Black and Brown LGBTQ people. The brief urged the Supreme Court to uphold the New York law because gun violence disproportionately impacts LGBTQ people—especially transgender and LGBTQ people of color— therefore keeping the law would continue to protect LGBTQ+ people from gun-related hate crimes. The decision on this case is a loss.”