The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a case concerning the Fourth Amendment rights of gun owners, leaving in place one of the most anti-gun rulings from any court of the modern era.
In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in United States v. Robinson held that, during a traffic stop, police officers who have reason to believe an individual is in possession of a firearm can legally treat that person as dangerous—even if the person’s behavior isn’t overtly threatening and the officer has no reason to believe the gun is being illegally possessed. In other words, anyone caught exercising their Second Amendment rights should be prepared to forfeit their Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
While it is yet to be seen whether the ruling will lead to an uptick in the number of law-abiding gun owners subjected to invasive and inconvenient friskings, the mere precedent set by this decision is an affront to our constitutional rights and could prove highly detrimental going forward.
