Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of April 26

Elizabeth City, NC has declared a state of emergency preemptively because they're about to release bodycam footage of a police killing

"Recordings of scanner traffic compiled by broadcastify.com from the morning of the shooting include emergency personnel indicating that Brown was shot in the back. An eyewitness has said that deputies fired shots at Brown as he tried to drive away, and a car authorities removed from the scene appeared to have multiple bullet holes and its back windshield shattered."

Seven sheriff's deputies have since been placed on administrative leave. Three others resigned, though the sheriff's office said the resignations were not related to the shooting.

NPR: Supreme Court To Take Up 1st Major Gun Rights Case In More Than A Decade

In a major foray into gun rights, the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a lower court ruling that upheld New York's restrictive gun-permit law.

At issue in the case, NY State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. Corlett, is how much the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to carry concealed weapons outside their home for self-defense. The case will likely be argued in the fall.

While most states permit gun owners to carry their firearms when they go out, New York and seven other states — California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island — have some restrictions.

To elaborate, what is being challenged is the “may-issue” provisions of New York’s concealed carry law. Most states are “shall-issue”, meaning if you take a class and pass the test, you can carry a concealed firearm in public. However, New York and the other states listed also require “good cause” to carry for self-defense. This definition is vague, and issuance varies by county; upstate counties act similar to shall-issue jurisdictions, while in New York City (which requires your permit be issued in NYC), good luck getting anything if you aren’t a celebrity, connected to the mayor, or are a jewel dealer or similar. Former President Trump is well-known by some gun enthusiasts for having had a NYC permit. Additionally, may-issue laws have been criticized for being biased/racist (the law in the case dates back to 1911, one of the earliest convictions was of an Italian immigrant) and corrupt (one of the ways to get a permit in many cases is a, ahem, donation to the sheriff’s re-election campaign).