Thank you, Clarence Thomas!

First, I want to say, “Happy Birthday!” to my good friend Justice Clarence Thomas!

Second, I want to say “Thank you, Clarence,” for today’s Supreme Court decision upholding our Second Amendment rights.

The justices ruled 6-to-3 that New York’s strict regulation of concealed carry permits was unconstitutionally broad and illegally limited the Second Amendment right of self-defense to the confines of one’s home. 

For example, during oral arguments, New York’s solicitor general told Justice Alito that leaving work late at night and walking through a high-crime neighborhood to get home was not a sufficient reason to be granted a concealed-carry permit. 

Justice Alito’s concerns were not merely hypothetical. There’s a serious crime wave sweeping the nation. Six cities are on track to exceed last year’s record crime rates, including New York City. 

While New York City liberals are busy trying to protect criminals, the conservative justices, thankfully, care about innocent New Yorkers. The high court found that New York’s overbearing demands were inconsistent with the guarantees of the Second Amendment. 

In his opinion for the court’s majority, Justice Thomas declared:

“The constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense is not ‘a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules . . . The exercise of other constitutional rights does not require individuals to demonstrate to government officers some special need. . . Nothing in the Second Amendment’s text draws a home/public distinction with respect to the right to keep and bear arms.”

It’s interesting that the court’s conservative justices issued today’s opinion expanding Second Amendment rights, while many politicians in Congress felt compelled to “do something” to restrict those rights.

It also bears repeating that today’s Second Amendment victory would have been a crushing defeat for freedom if Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump, had replaced Justices Scalia, Kennedy and Ginsburg. (By the way, Hillary is still claiming that she won the 2016 election!)

American Values played a key role in those critical confirmation battles. And I look forward to celebrating more important victories in the days ahead.

Please help keep us in the battle for Faith, Family and Freedom!