WASHINGTON, D.C.–The Supreme Court’s ruling against New York’s permit requirement for carrying guns outside the home is a clear and present danger to women, BIPOC communities and others who are already carrying the heavy burden of gun violence, racial profiling and gender-based harassment and violence towards women.
Concealed weapons are a form of oppression and intimidation used by abusers to subjugate women and keep them living in a climate of fear. With this ruling, guns can now be openly used to further oppress and intimidate women, deprive them of their bodily autonomy or prevent them from accessing their most basic rights.
The Supreme Court has opened the door to a concealed carry crisis of gun violence, but NOW members won’t let this stand.
We continue to support state and local laws to keep Americans safe from gun violence, and we will mobilize voters to turn out in record numbers to elect new leaders who will pass national legislation to keep us all safe.
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The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the nation’s leading membership-based advocacy group dedicated to defending women’s rights, advancing equality and combating injustice in all aspects of social, political and economic life. Through educating, mobilizing, and convening a vast network of grassroots activists across the country, NOW advocates for national, state and local policies that promote an anti-racist and intersectional feminist agenda. Since its founding in 1966, NOW has been on the frontlines of nearly every major advancement for women’s rights and continues to champion progressive values today. More about NOW’s efforts and resources is available at NOW.org.