Gun License Fees Aren't Unconstitutional
The Claim
Gun licensing fees violate the U.S. constitution.
News posted on
Emerging story
An article was written by the American Thinker, titled “US Supreme Court: Gun Licensing Fees Are Unconstitutional.” This article was shared on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
Some states require gun licenses to purchase firearms, and some of these licenses come with fees. For example, a concealed carry license in Florida costs over $100. The viral article argues that a Supreme Court ruling makes this unconstitutional.
However, Misbar's investigation found that there are a lot of issues with this article. The title makes it seem like a news article, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Supreme Court decision it talks about isn’t recent – it was in 1943. Not only that, but the decision didn’t have anything to do with guns: the decision pertained to licensing fees on religious objects, not guns. More recently, the Supreme Court has ruled that there are limitations to the second amendment, not unlike that of the first amendment. The article does not mention these limitations.
Still, in April of this year the Supreme Court is going to discuss whether license fees are unconstitutional. The debate is far from over, and this article may very well be obsolete in a few weeks.
