1. Today’s Supreme Court decision striking down NY state’s gun licensing law throws into question a range of gun regulations. This raises many serious concerns, but a less noticed one is its impact on the First Amendment rights of protesters. #ProtectProtest (1/11)
2. The US has seen a rash of protests/counter-protests with firearms. Protests with guns are much more likely to be violent. They are also intimidating. As one friend said: “I won’t go to a protest where I know there are guns. It’s too scary” @Everytown acleddata.com/2021/08/23/arm…
3. Guns at protests can also directly damage our democracy. Imagine if those who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6th had been allowed to be armed. It likely would have been much more violent. Luckily, DC has some of the strongest laws in the country restricting guns at protests.
4. Today’s decision doesn’t provide clear guideposts to legislators to know what gun regulations pass constitutional muster. This will likely lead to new challenges of many existing gun regulations with unclear outcomes in the courts. supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf…
5. To make sure the freedom to peaceful assembly is protected in this new landscape, lawmakers should enact regulations to restrict guns at protests. In this @ICNLAlliance briefer, I outlined four potential options with my colleague Elly Page. icnl.org/post/analysis/…
6. First, ban guns in “sensitive places”, including both inside and outside statehouses, courthouses, and polling places where protests often take place. The Court reiterated today this is constitutional. Legislatures should take much fuller advantage.
7. Second, ban guns around protests. DC bans guns within 1,000 feet of a demonstration (police warn anyone armed to leave the area before enforcing the law). Protests are core to our democracy just like other "sensitive places" the Court has recognized and should be protected.
8. Third, many states have longstanding bans on armed private militias. These need to be strengthened and enforced against armed protesters who show up as a group. Check out @GeorgetownICAP for a detailed analysis of these laws. law.georgetown.edu/icap/our-work/…
9. Fourth, there are many other laws that can be used. For example, almost all states prohibit using guns to “intimidate or threaten” and several prohibit “going armed to the terror of the public”. These have been used to disarm armed protesters and should be applied aggressively
10. In sum, guns at protests are a serious problem. Today’s decision creates new uncertainty for gun regulation, but lawmakers have a number of options they can still pursue to protect the First Amendment right to peaceful assembly from firearms.
11. Addendum: If you are interested in the impact of guns at protests also check out the great work of @ACLEDINFO on political violence in the US. acleddata.com/2022/01/05/upd…
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