Welcome back to the Ten Blocks podcast.

This is your host, Brian Anderson, the editor of City Journal. Joining me on today's

show are three Manhattan Institute colleagues here to discuss the recent Supreme Court ruling on gun laws in New York State.

We have Nicole Jelineas, she's a senior fellow at MI and a contributing editor of City Journal.

Rafael Menguel, he's a senior fellow at MI, contributing editor of City Journal as well,

and the head of research at the Institute's Policing and Public Safety Initiative.

And Robert Verbrugan, a fellow at MI.

So Nicole, Ralph, Robert, thanks for joining very much.

This case titled New York State Rifle and Pistol

Association, Inc. V. Bruin was obviously overshadowed by another big decision that the Supreme

Court handed down this week or last week, but that doesn't mean it's not significant,

not only for what it means legally, but also for its implications practically on the streets here in New York City and State.

It was a six to three decision with the court striking down in New York State law that required applicants for concealed carry permits to prove

a special need for self-protection. So Ralph, as a lawyer, why don't you start by explaining

the legal background here? What did this law mean in practice? And why did the court's

majority declare it unconstitutional?

So I think a little background is in order here. So in 2008, the Supreme Court held for the

first time in a case called the Heller v. District of Columbia that the Second Amendment protected

an individual right to handgun ownership in the home. That case was challenging a Washington, D.C.

statute which banned the possession of handguns even for self-defense in the home. That was kind of

the first domino to fall in the Second Amendment context. And in 2010, we saw a case out of Chicago

called McDonald that held that the Second Amendment

...