United States Supreme Court Building

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act can remain in effect pending appeal.

The Court upheld a stay that was issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Antonyuk v. Nigrelli in December 2022.

State Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement that said, “We have a right to enact commonsense measures to protect our communities, and I am pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision to allow New York’s concealed carry gun law to remain in effect. Too many New Yorkers are plagued by gun violence, and we know that basic gun laws help save lives every day. My office will continue to use every tool at our disposal to protect New Yorkers and defend our responsible gun laws.”

The Concealed Carry Act took effect in September 2022 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. The law strengthens requirements for concealed carry permits, prohibits guns in sensitive places, requires individuals with concealed carry permits to request a property owner’s consent to carry on their premises, enhances safe storage requirements, and requires background checks on all ammunition purchases.

U.S District Court Judge Glenn Suddaby of Syracuse ruled that the state can still prevent people from carrying guns in Times Square, public playgrounds, libraries, nurseries and preschools. But mental hospitals, places of worship, public parks, zoos, theaters, conference centers, protests and bars are no longer off limits. A section of the law barring permit holders from carrying guns in other “restricted locations” was blocked as well.

The judge also ruled that permit applicants should not be required to prove that they have “good moral character,” provide names and contact information for their partners and roommates or provide a list of their social media accounts from the last three years.The same judge issued a similar ruling in October, but that order was appealed by the state and has yet to take effect.

It was not clear if the state would appeal the new injunction.

This lawsuit is being led by Gun Owners of America and was bought by six gun owners from upstate New York who claim the law infringes on their constitutional rights.

Governor Kathy Hochul signs gun control legislation

Guns will be banned in many public places in New York now that Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law that she says gives the state more ammunition in the fight against gun violence.

State lawmakers passed the new law last week in an extraordinary session of the state legislature called by Hochul after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York’s concealed weapon carry gun law.

The legislation makes concealed carry in sensitive locations a punishable crime. Sensitive locations include:
– Bars and restaurants that serve alcohol
– Courthouses
– Daycare facilities, playgrounds and other locations where children gather
– Educational Institutions
– Emergency shelters, including domestic violence shelters and homeless shelters
– Entertainment venues
– Federal, state, and local government buildings
– Health and medical facilities
– Houses of worship
– Libraries
– Polling sites
– Public demonstrations and rallies
– Public transportation including subways and buses

The law says people will not be allowed to take guns into any business or workplace unless the owners put up signs saying guns are welcome.

People applying for a license to carry a handgun in New York state also have to provide four character references. Gun buyers must also complete firearms safety training, agree to periodic background checks and submit social media accounts for review.

The law also creates a statewide license and ammunition database.

It also strengthens and clarifies the law relating to the sale of body armor to include hard body armor, such as the type worn by the suspect in the Buffalo shooting and the safe storage of firearms.

The law will take effect on September 1, 2022. In addition, an appeals board will be created for those applicants whose license or renewal is denied or revoked, which will take effect on April 1, 2023.

State Senator George Borrello issued a statement saying the legislation “will do nothing to make New Yorkers safer and only provide criminals with a sure-fire guarantee that they can go on a rampage in hospitals, schools and other so-called ‘sensitive places’ without fear that a law-abiding, licensed gun owner will intervene to stop the carnage.”

Gun advocates say the law tramples rights upheld by the Supreme Court and they say a legal challenge is certain.

The governor wants lawmakers to consider new ways to tighten the state’s gun laws after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York’s concealed carry law. The previous law needed people to say why they needed to carry a concealed pistol, and without “proper cause” could not be allowed to do so. The Supreme Court ruled that the “proper cause” restriction was unconstitutional.

Hochul submitted her own legislation that she wants lawmakers to consider. She also wants legislatures to consider a constitutional amendment that would give men and women in New York State equal rights.

Lawmakers were working late in the night Thursday to iron out language on a new gun law that would follow the Supreme Court’s ruling against New York State.

The State Senate and Assembly are expected to resume meeting at 9:00 this morning.

Governor Kathy Hochul announces executive orders, legislation to strengthen gun control laws, combat domestic terrorism (May 18, 2022)

Governor Kathy Hochul said she is bringing state lawmakers back on Thursday, June 30 to consider gun safety legislation in response to the Supreme Court striking down key portions of the state’s licensing law.

The court on Thursday, June 23 overturned the state law that required that people applying for a concealed carry permit demonstrate a specific need to have a gun in public. The court’s conservative majority said that violated the Second Amendment, which they interpreted as protecting people’s right to carry a gun for self-defense outside the home.

Hochul called the decision “reckless and reprehensible” as she announced she will convene a special session.

New York officials are considering restrictions on concealed carry in “sensitive locations,” such as government buildings and bars. They’re also looking at implementing specific training for permit applicants, among other options.

Joe Biden

President Joe Biden has signed into law Saturday a bipartisan bill to address gun violence.

CNN reports the bill amounts to the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades and marks a significant bipartisan breakthrough on one of the most contentious policy issues in Washington.

The House on Friday passed the bill by 234 to 193, including 14 Republicans voting with Democrats. The Senate passed the bill in a late-night vote Thursday.

The measure includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

It also makes significant changes to the process when someone ages 18 to 21 goes to buy a firearm and closes the so-called boyfriend loophole, a victory for Democrats, who have long fought for that.

The package represents the most significant new federal legislation to address gun violence since the expired 10-year assault weapons ban of 1994 — though it fails to ban any weapons and falls far short of what Democrats and polls show most Americans want to see.

Securing a bipartisan agreement on major gun legislation has been notoriously difficult for lawmakers in recent years even in the face of countless mass shootings across the country.

Democrats in particular have been quick to celebrate the bipartisan gun deal since action to address gun violence is a major priority for the party.

It came one day after the Supreme Court struck down a New York gun law enacted more than a century ago that places restrictions on carrying a concealed handgun outside the home.

The rulings once again highlight the limited power of the Democratic party, despite it controlling both branches of Congress and the White House.

Kathy Hochul makes statement on Supreme Court ruling (June 23, 2022)

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Constitution provides a right to carry a gun outside the home, issuing a major decision on the meaning of the Second Amendment.

The 6-3 ruling was the court’s second important decision on the right to “keep and bear arms.” In a landmark 2008 decision, the court said for the first time that the amendment safeguards a person’s right to possess firearms, although the decision was limited to keeping guns at home for self-defense.

The court has now taken that ruling to the next step after years of ducking the issue and applied the Second Amendment beyond the limits of homeowners’ property.

The case involved a New York law that required showing a special need to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public. The state bans carrying handguns openly, but it allows residents to apply for licenses to carry them concealed.

The law at issue said, however, that permits could be granted only to applicants who demonstrated some special need — a requirement that went beyond a general desire for self-protection.

Gun owners in the state sued, contending that the requirement made it virtually impossible for ordinary citizens to get the necessary license. They argued that the law turned the Second Amendment into a limited privilege, not a constitutional right.

The court agreed with the challengers and struck down the heightened requirement.

The ruling could affect the ability of state and local governments to impose a wide variety of firearms regulations. All states allow carrying concealed guns in public, although many require state-issued permits.

Governor Kathy Hochul called the U.S. Supreme Court ruling not just “reckless, it’s reprehensible,” “It’s not what New Yorkers want. We should have the right of determination of what we want to do in terms of our gun laws in our state. If the federal government will not have sweeping laws to protect us, then our states and our governors have a moral responsibility to do what we can and have laws that protect our citizens because of what is going on – the insanity of the gun culture that has now possessed everyone all the way up to even to the Supreme Court.”

Hochul said she’s prepared to call the State Legislature back to deal with the issue. A special session of legislature would likely be scheduled for after next week’s primary to see if law can be re-drafted to comply.

Hochul made her comments during a press event for the signing of Alyssa’s Law, which requires that schools consider the usefulness of silent panic alarm systems when developing their district-level school safety plans. And it expressly authorizes their inclusion within building level safety plans. The panic alarm systems can be implemented in the classroom as a smartphone app.

She also convened a meeting Thursday with New York’s six largest cities to discuss the impact of the decision and the policy options being considered

State Senator George Borrello issued a statement calling the ruling a victory for gun-owners in the state, saying, “If the governor and legislative majorities were genuinely concerned about public safety, they would target their efforts on the criminals engaging in gun violence and other crimes by repealing their disastrous bail ‘reform’ law.”

The final vote was 65 to 33 with 15 Republicans joining Democrats in support of the measure, marking a significant bipartisan breakthrough on one of the most contentious policy issues in the country. The bill will next go to the House for a vote before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

The bipartisan gun deal includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

It also makes significant changes to the process when someone ages 18 to 21 goes to buy a firearm and closes the so-called boyfriend loophole, a victory for Democrats, who have long fought for that.

The package amounts to the most significant new federal legislation to address gun violence since the expired 10-year assault weapons ban of 1994 — though it fails to ban any weapons and falls far short of what Democrats and what polls show most Americans want to see.

The bill includes $750 million to help states implement and run crisis intervention programs. The money can be used to implement and manage red flag programs — which can temporarily prevent individuals in crisis from accessing firearms through a court order — and for other crisis intervention programs like mental health courts, drug courts and veterans courts.

This bill closes a years-old loophole in domestic violence law that barred individuals who were convicted of domestic violence crimes against married partners, or partners with whom they shared children or partners with whom they co-habitated, from having guns. Old statutes didn’t include intimate partners who may not live together, be married or share children. Now, the law will bar from having a gun anyone who is convicted of a domestic violence crime against someone they have a “continuing serious relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.”

The law isn’t retroactive. It will, however, allow those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes to restore their gun rights after five years if they haven’t committed other crimes.

The bill encourages states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System with grants as well as implements a new protocol for checking those records.

The bill goes after individuals who sell guns as primary sources of income but have previously evaded registering as federally licensed firearms dealers. It also increases funding for mental health programs and school security.

A split has emerged among some prominent members of House and Senate GOP leadership.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell supported the bipartisan gun deal. But top House Republican leaders have been lining up in opposition to the bill and are urging their members to vote “no.”

But even with House GOP leaders opposing the bill, there are already some House Republicans who have indicated they plan to vote for it, and the Democrat-controlled chamber is expected to be able to pass the legislation.

The Associated Press reports the proposal falls far short of tougher steps long sought by President Joe Biden and many Democrats. Even so, the accord was embraced by Biden and enactment would signal a significant turnabout after years of gun massacres that have yielded little but stalemate in Congress.

Leaders hope to push any agreement into law rapidly — they hope this month — before the political momentum fades that has been stirred by the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas.

Participants cautioned that final details and legislative language remain to be completed, meaning fresh disputes and delays might emerge.

In a consequential development, 20 senators, including 10 Republicans, released a statement calling for passage. That is potentially crucial because the biggest obstacle to enacting the measure is probably in the 50-50 Senate, where at least 10 GOP votes will be needed to attain the usual 60-vote threshold for approval.

The compromise would make the juvenile records of gun buyers under age 21 available when they undergo background checks. The suspects who killed 10 Black people at a grocery store in Buffalo and 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde were both 18, and many perpetrators of recent years’ mass shootings have been young.

The agreement would offer money to states to enact and put in place “red flag” laws that make it easier to temporarily take guns from people considered potentially violent, plus funds to bolster school safety and mental health programs.

Some people who informally sell guns for profit would be required to obtain federal dealers’ licenses, which means they would have to conduct background checks of buyers. Convicted domestic abusers who do not live with a former partner, such as estranged ex-boyfriends, would be barred from buying firearms, and it would be a crime for a person to legally purchase a weapon for someone who would not qualify for ownership.

Congressional aides said billions of dollars would be spent expanding the number of community mental health centers and suicide prevention programs. But they said some spending decisions are unresolved, as are final wording on juvenile records and other gun provisions that might prove contentious.

The agreement was quickly endorsed by groups that support gun restrictions including Brady, Everytown for Gun Safety and March for Our Lives, which organized rallies held around the country on Saturday.

The National Rifle Association said in a statement that it opposes gun control and infringing on people’s “fundamental right to protect themselves and their loved ones,” but supports strengthening school security, mental health and law enforcement. The group has long exerted its sway with millions of firearms-owning voters to derail gun control drives in Congress.

The agreement represents a lowest common denominator compromise on gun violence. Lawmakers have demonstrated a newfound desire to move ahead after saying their constituents have shown a heightened desire for congressional action since Buffalo and Uvalde, but Republicans still oppose more sweeping steps that Democrats want and Sunday’s agreement omits.

These include banning assault-style firearms such as the AR-15 style rifles used in Buffalo and Uvalde, or raising the legal age for buying them.

Democrats have also wanted to ban high capacity magazines and to expand required background checks to far more gun purchases. None of those proposals has a chance in Congress.

The last major firearms restrictions enacted by lawmakers was the 1994 assault weapons ban, which Congress let expire 10 years later.

Governor Kathy Hochul signs gun laws (June 6, 2022)

Governor Kathy Hochul signed 10 bills Monday strengthening New York’s gun laws following a wave of deadly mass shootings.

New Yorkers who are under the age of 21 will now be prohibited from buying semiautomatic rifles under a new law. One of the bills requires microstamping in new firearms, which could help law enforcement solve gun-related crimes.

Another revised the state’s “red flag” law, which allows courts to temporarily take away guns from people who might be a threat to themselves or others.

New York’s Legislature passed the bills last week, following a pair of mass shootings involving 18-year-old gunmen using semiautomatic rifles. Ten Black people died in a racist attack on a Buffalo supermarket May 14. A Texas school shooting took the lives of 19 children and two teachers 10 days later.

Part of New York’s new law will also require all purchasers of semiautomatic rifles to get a license, something now required only for handguns.

Proposed federal legislation that would require buyers of semiautomatic weapons to be 21 is advancing in the U.S. House, but is seen as facing long odds in the Senate.

Hochul also signed a bill Monday that will restrict sales of bullet-resistant vests and armor only to people in certain professions.

The governor said New York will continue to invest in prevention of gun-related crimes by partnering with local communities and continuing to strengthen laws by putting pressure on Congress.