A federal judge on Monday blocked parts of New York’s controversial gun law that restrict concealed carry rights in certain areas of the state, while a pro-Second Amendment advocacy group challenges the law on constitutional grounds.
District Court Judge Glenn Suddaby indicated that the state’s law invoked “unprecedented constitutional violations” and granted a partial preliminary injunction in favor of Gun Owners of America (GOA), forcing the state has to immediately cease enforcement of parts of the law, which was signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in July.
“We are excited to see Kathy Hochul finally served a plate of humble pie, and we are fully prepared to continue the fight should she again attempt to disarm the citizens of her state at a time when her party’s policies are only escalating the danger that everyday citizens face,” said Erich Pratt, GOA senior vice president.
Gov. Kathy Hochul was ‘served a plate of humble pie’ from NY district court judge, Second Amendment group says. (Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit)
Suddaby ruled that the state can still prevent people from carrying guns in Times Square, public playgrounds, libraries, nurseries and preschools. But he ruled that mental hospitals, places of worship, public parks, zoos, theaters, conference centers, protests and bars are no longer off limits for people with a concealed carry permit. Another section of the law that required concealed-carry applicants to disclose social media accounts for review and be subject to assessment of “good moral character” was also blocked.
Suddaby said in his decision that “the subjective and vague standard of ‘good moral character’ could allow licensing officers to deny an application if they were to see reflected in a compulsively disclosed social-media handle any hobby, activity, political ideology, sexual preference, or social behavior that they personally deem to show bad ‘temperament’ or ‘judgment.’”
In their lawsuit filed in September, GOA said the bill, the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, was “rushed” through an extraordinary congressional session and “passed without the required public posting, comment and debate.”
Gun rights group says, Concealed Carry Improvement Act, which Governor Kathy Hochel signed in into law on July 1 was “rushed” through an extraordinary congressional session and “passed without the required public posting, comment and debate.” (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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According to the lawsuit, the law “introduced a slew of new, unprecedented, and blatantly unconstitutional impediments to New Yorkers in their attempt to exercise their constitutional right to armed self-defense outside the home.”
GOA’s lawsuit comes after the Supreme Court earlier this year in the landmark case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, ruled that a state law requiring citizens to show “proper cause” for self-defense to obtain a concealed carry permit was unconstitutional, which reset the standard for analyzing Second Amendment challenges.
Supporters of gun control and firearm safety measures hold a protest rally outside the US Supreme Court as the Court hears oral arguments in State Rifle and Pistol v. City of New York, NY, in Washington, DC, December 2, 2019. – The case marks the first time in nearly 10 years that the Supreme Court has heard a Second Amendment gun ownership case. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
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“This is very exciting for the citizens of New York, as today liberty won and tyranny lost,” Sam Paredes of the Gun Owners Foundation said of the district court’s decision.
“GOF and our allies remain fully prepared to defend this ruling from the foolish appeals that the anti-gunners in Albany will inevitably bring,” he said.
