This last session of the Supreme Court has been unusual since the Justices discussed whether to hear the Peruta v. CA gun case during 12 weekly conferences (they usually decide to hear or refuse a case in one conference). Today, SCOTUS announced they have denied certiorari for Peruta v. CA, the case which would overturn 'may issue' in CA counties and make them 'shall issue'.
Justices Thomas and Gorsuch put out a strongly worded statement criticizing SCOTUS for not hearing the Peruta case.
It's likely that Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch wanted to hear the case, but it takes 4 to grant certiorari, and 5 to decide a case. I'm guessing that Kennedy and Roberts were wobbly on this gun case, which would have changed the USA towards "shall issue" for all States.As Justices Thomas and Gorsuch correctly stated, too many courts have been treating the Second Amendment as a second-class right. That should not be allowed to stand. As the Supreme Court stated in its landmark decision in Heller v. District of Columbia, the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense. The framers of our Constitution did not intend to limit that right to the home.
added DailyCaller article:
http://dailycaller.com/2017/06/26/justi ... amendment/
Thomas wrote: For those of us who work in marbled halls, guarded constantly by a vigilant and dedicated police force, the guarantees of the Second Amendment might seem antiquated and superfluous,” Thomas wrote after most members of the court declined to hear the California case.
“But the Framers made a clear choice: They reserved to all Americans the right to bear arms for self-defense. I do not think we should stand by idly while a State denies its citizens that right, particularly when their very lives may depend on it,” Thomas said.