RESTRAINING THE SECOND AMENDMENT IN THE ERA OF THE INDIVIDUAL RIGHT: ADOPTING A MODIFIED SOUTH AFRICAN GUN CONTROL MODEL

In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court announced a novel historical test for judging the constitutionality of firearm laws. In combination with its earlier decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Court has created an onerous burden on federal and state legislatures attempting to regulate civilian firearm ownership. Given Heller's individual right ruling, McDonald's incorporation, and Bruen's historical precedent requirement, it is clear that designing a restrictive firearm ownership system based on models that have proven successful in other Western countries is not possible, as most, if not all, of these would run afoul of these precedents. South Africa's firearm licensing system, on the other hand, can provide a useful starting point for creating a framework that states can adopt. South Africa has significant private firearm ownership, its licensing system is not unduly restrictive, and it has proven successful in reducing gun violence. This Note therefore proposes adopting a version of South Africa's firearm licensing system modified to survive judicial review in the United States. This Model Act likely represents close to the most restrictive licensing system that can pass judicial review following Bruen and might prove similarly effective in reducing gun violence in the United States.