Commentary Earlier this month the Supreme Court heard an important gun rights case—its most important such case in decades—and its ruling is now eagerly awaited by all sides. At issue is the meaning of the clear language of the Second Amendment, which insists that “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” My objective here is to use this case to examine, not so much the issue of gun rights, but rather the philosophy of original intent jurisprudence that has governed the Republican and conservative approach to the courts for nearly half a century. The case of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen involves a New York law that requires anyone who wants a gun license to show “proper cause.” According to the SCOTUS blog, courts have typically required “applicants to show a special need to defend themselves, rather than …