Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/22-915_8o6b.pdf
Page Number: 102

Cite as:  602 U. S. ____ (2024) 

31 

THOMAS, J., dissenting 

“[t]hroughout  the  South,  armed  parties  . . .  forcibly  took
firearms  from  newly  freed  slaves.”  Id.,  at  772.  “In  one 
town, the marshal took all arms from returned colored sol-
diers, and was very prompt in shooting the blacks whenever 
an  opportunity  occurred.”    Ibid.  (alterations  and  internal 
quotation  marks  omitted).    A  constitutional  amendment 
was ultimately “necessary to provide full protection for the 
rights of blacks.”  Id., at 775. 

The Government peddles a modern version of the govern-
mental authority that led to those historical evils.  Its the-
ory would allow federal majoritarian interests to determine 
who  can  and  cannot  exercise  their  constitutional  rights.
While Congress cannot revive disarmament laws based on
race, one can easily imagine a world where political minor-
ities or those with disfavored cultural views are deemed the 
next “dangers” to society.  Thankfully, the Constitution pro-
hibits  such  laws.  The  “very  enumeration  of  the  [Second 
Amendment] right takes out of the hands of government . . . 
the  power  to  decide  on  a  case-by-case  basis  whether  the
right is really worth insisting upon.”  Heller, 544 U. S., at 
634. 

The Court rightly rejects the Government’s approach by
concluding that any modern regulation must be justified by 
specific historical regulations.  See ante, at 10–15.  But, the 
Court should remain wary of any theory in the future that
would exchange the Second Amendment’s boundary line—
“the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be 
infringed”—for  vague  (and  dubious)  principles  with  con-
tours defined by whoever happens to be in power. 

* 

* 

* 
This case is not about whether States can disarm people 
who threaten others.  States have a ready mechanism for 
disarming anyone who uses a firearm to threaten physical
violence:  criminal  prosecution.  Most  States,  including
Texas, classify aggravated assault as a felony, punishable