Global incomprehension: USA further expands right to carry firearms

Washington - In a far-reaching decision, the US Supreme Court has extended the right to carry firearms in public. On Thursday, the Supreme Court overturned a New York State law that required people to show good cause to carry a handgun concealed.

Almost nowhere else in the world is it as easy to obtain weapons as in the USA.
Almost nowhere else in the world is it as easy to obtain weapons as in the USA.  © 123RF/tiraspr

This law violates the constitution because it prevents "law-abiding citizens" from exercising their right to keep and bear arms, the ruling stated.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul (63) reacted with disappointment. "It is outrageous that at a time when gun violence is being considered nationwide, the Supreme Court would recklessly overturn a New York law that restricts the concealed carrying of weapons," she lamented.

A new debate about gun violence has flared up in the USA following several massacres involving firearms. At the end of May, an 18-year-old gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in the small town of Uvalde in the US state of Texas.

In mid-April, an 18-year-old opened fire outside and inside a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, killing ten people.

In response, a bipartisan group in the US Senate has agreed on a bill for better protection against gun violence. A vote could take place this week.

The bill cleared a first procedural hurdle in the Senate with a bipartisan majority in a vote on Tuesday evening (local time).