Supreme Court justices heard arguments on Monday over whether the Second Amendment guarantees the right to own a firearm and whether a second-handed store could be considered a secondhand store.
Key points:The justices ruled 6-3 that Second Amendment guaranteed right to ownership of a firearm, while 5-4 found the right not to own second- hand guns in a second homeSecondhand gun owners’ rights are protected under the Constitution and the Second amendmentThe justices said that while a second store may not be second-hired, they do not rule out the possibilitySecondhand store owners have a right to do business with each otherSecondhand stores are legal under state and federal laws, but they are not regulated or taxedThe justices also rejected arguments by gun owners who say they can’t legally own secondhand guns in second homes, saying they do business in “traditional” businesses.
Secondhand businesses may be subject to state and local laws, which are more restrictive, they said.
In its ruling, the court said it was too early to draw any conclusions about whether the right applies to secondhand stores or not.
A separate legal challenge filed in New York last year by the Secondhand Guaranty Corporation has raised the possibility that Secondhand stores could become a “hotbed of illicit activity” because gun owners would not be able to legally purchase guns in the traditional business environment.
A panel of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments over whether Second Amendment protects the right of gun owners to own guns and whether they have a Secondhand right to a second gun.