In a setback for opponents of arbitrary carry restrictions, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away Schoenthal v. Raoul. This left a lower court ruling in place that upheld the Illinois prohibition on carrying firearms while using the state’s public transportation system.
The Seventh Circuit ruled last September that the Illinois ban was constitutional. The plaintiffs disagreed, but now the high court has denied certiorari.
Justices set an alarming precedent when they turned Schoenthal away
Second Amendment advocates are rightly concerned about going forward with Monday’s decision. Justices let stand the circuit court determination that the public transit carry ban passed the Bruen test of aligning with the nation’s “history and tradition” of firearms regulation.
This means that state and local governments are essentially free to declare that any “crowded” or “confined” space is sensitive and therefore off-limits to lawful carry.
According to Ammoland News, the court decided that “the risk of stray rounds hitting innocent people is high, noted that escape is generally impossible when vehicles are moving, and stressed that a driver distracted, injured, or killed by gunfire could endanger everyone onboard and even people outside the vehicle.”
The right to armed self-defense should not evaporate on a bus or train
And while those concerns are legitimate, they should not override the freedom to engage in armed self-defense.
After all, violent criminals are not stopped by new laws and warning signs; they will be armed regardless. The only question is whether the good people will be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights to defend themselves and their loved ones.
“Crowded” and “confined” spaces can be just as dangerous or more so than a lonely stretch of dark country road. Riders on Illinois’ public transit systems should not be stripped of their right to keep and bear arms.
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