In the 1908 case of People of the State of New York ex rel. Kopel v. Bingham, Police Commissioner of the City of New York, a man named Kopel was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit in violation of state law. He argued that his arrest and subsequent conviction were unconstitutional because they violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms. The Supreme Court disagreed with this argument, ruling that states have broad authority to regulate firearms under their police powers and that such regulations do not infringe upon an individual's constitutional rights as long as they are reasonable and serve public safety interests. Therefore, it upheld Kopel's conviction.

In the dissenting opinion for PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK EX REL. KOPEL v. BINGHAM, it was argued that the police commissioner's actions were not in violation of any constitutional rights and thus should be upheld. The dissenting justices believed that the petitioner had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his arrest and subsequent detention were unlawful or unjustified under New York law at the time. They contended that public safety concerns justified temporary detentions without warrants, especially when dealing with potential threats to peace and order such as those posed by individuals carrying concealed weapons without permits. Furthermore, they maintained that even if there had been some procedural irregularities in this case, these did not rise to the level of constitutional violations warranting federal court intervention.