Bruen Decision
NYSRPA v. Bruen (2022) — eliminated "interest balancing" test, required gun laws to match 1791 historical tradition
Overview
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen dramatically expanded Heller. In a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Thomas, the Court struck down New York's "proper cause" requirement for concealed carry licenses and — more consequentially — established a new test for evaluating all gun regulations.
Under Bruen, laws must be "consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation" as understood in 1791 (the founding era) or 1868 (post-Civil War). This "history and tradition" test eliminated the two-part interest-balancing tests that most courts had used, which weighed government interest against Second Amendment burdens.
Since Bruen, lower courts have used the ruling to strike down laws banning guns at polling places, ghost gun regulations, restrictions on silencers, and prohibitions on gun possession by people under domestic violence restraining orders (later reversed). The ruling has created enormous uncertainty in gun law.
Key Personnel
Justice Clarence Thomas
Opinion AuthorAuthored the majority opinion establishing the "history and tradition" test that has upended decades of gun law precedent.
Paul Clement
Counsel for PetitionersFormer US Solicitor General who argued the gun rights side before the Supreme Court.
Legislative Wins / Policy Impact
- Struck down NY concealed carry restrictions
- Created legal framework being used to challenge hundreds of gun laws nationwide
- Lower courts citing Bruen challenged hundreds of gun laws. Final outcomes: bump stock ban struck down by SCOTUS on statutory grounds (Garland v. Cargill, June 2024); ghost gun rules upheld 7–2 by SCOTUS (Bondi v. VanDerStok, March 2025); domestic violence firearm restrictions upheld 8–1 by SCOTUS (United States v. Rahimi, June 2024)