Supreme Court requests defense from NYC over stun gun ban

The Supreme Court of the United States has requested that New York City provide a defense regarding its ban on stun guns. The request follows a petition from the Firearms Policy Coalition, the Second Amendment Foundation, and several individual plaintiffs seeking to challenge the legality of the ban.

While the request does not guarantee the Court will grant certiorari in Calce v. New York, it indicates judicial interest. The case touches upon legal precedents such as Caetano v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which established that the Second Amendment protects modern arms, not just those existing in 1791. Lower courts have previously upheld the New York City ban, citing a lack of evidence that stun guns are in “common use.”

This development occurs amid an increasing caseload of Second Amendment challenges at the Supreme Court. Other pending or recent matters include Viramontes v. Cook County, involving an Illinois ban on modern semiautomatic firearms, and Duncan v. Bonta, which challenges California’s magazine capacity limits.