En esta noticia
In the United States, the Second Amendment is one of the most debated but protected sections of the American National Constitution, after the First Amendment, on freedom of speech. Over the years, the free ownership and carrying of firearms has caused uproar because of several massacres in different contexts.
Over the past year, several cases have reached the United States Supreme Court. In the last week of June, the possibility of reconsidering the laws that restrict the ownership and carrying of firearms by people between 18 and 20 years old was dismissed.
Can gun ownership be limited without affecting the Second Amendment?
If there is one debate that has remained active over the years, it is how much this constitutional guarantee can be regulated and limited without violating the Second Amendment: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Determining whether or not these are violations is precisely the task being carried out by the Supreme Court with the latest rulings in which it rejected or accepted certain cases to evaluate the conditions under which they are allowed.
Current restrictions on gun ownership in the United States
In states such as Connecticut and Illinois, there are bans on certain semi-automatic or assault rifles due to various massacres, such as the one that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, which resulted in the deaths of 26 people.
In this sense, these regulations consider that this type of weapon is linked to mass shootings and therefore justify regulation in this regard.
Lower courts have already handled these cases and determined that they are not violations of the Second Amendment, so they remain in force pending review by the Supreme Court.
What precedents triggered the latest sessions at the Supreme Court?
These bans and regulations on certain weapons come after several years in which the Supreme Court took charge of progressively expanding protection for this constitutional right.
In 2008, it was recognized that the Second Amendment protects the individual right to own firearms for self-defense. In 2010, this became applicable against various state laws. In 2022, it was established that restrictions must “align” with the historical tradition of the United States.
The Supreme Court’s latest rulings regarding the Second Amendment
Although the debate remains active, the Supreme Court has already made several decisions during June 2026, including:
- On June 18, it limited the scope of a law that prevented people who use narcotics from owning guns depending on their use
- On June 26, it declared unconstitutional a Hawaii law that prevented carrying firearms on private property open to the public, such as any business, without the owner’s knowledge.
- On June 30, it made two important decisions:
- It agreed to review assault weapon bans in Connecticut and Cook County, Illinois. The case could redefine the scope of this constitutional right regarding which types of firearms are protected.
- It declined to hear challenges to age-based firearm purchase restrictions, which sought to overturn the ban on selling firearms to individuals between the ages of 18 and 20.