Responding to George Will’s misleading column on the Supreme Court’s recent gun control decision
John Lott - Crime Prevention Research Center | Published on 8/9/2022
George Will misses a historical fact in his critique of Justice Clarence Thomas’s opinion in last week’s gun ruling (“The Supreme Court’s gun ruling is a serious misfire,” June 23, 2022). Will cites the Supreme Court’s Robertson v. Baldwin ruling in 1897 to justify bans on concealed handguns, but doesn’t mention that the same justices decided the infamous 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. That ruling upheld the separate but equal doctrine and allowed racial segregation to continue. Robertson also discriminated against blacks with its restrictions on concealed carry. Blacks, the most vulnerable members of society, were prevented from being able to defend themselves. Unfortunately, Will relies on such an infamously racist court to attack Thomas’ opinion. The May-issue laws in New York and six other states continued that discrimination.