Opinion

The Supreme Court’s gun ruling is bad, but not for the reasons you might think

The Supreme Court’s 6-t0-3 decision striking down New York’s licensing requirements for handguns is not nearly as broad as some are characterizing it. But the convoluted reasoning behind the ruling is perhaps more dishonest than even the court’s worst critics imagine.

Justice Clarence Thomas’s majority opinion striking down the law, which permitted state authorities to exercise discretion in issuing a concealed-carry license, is an exercise in sophistry. He perfectly distills the intellectual dishonesty deployed by self-described “originalists” to reach an outcome they favor.