In response to the US Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (see Supreme Court Rules You Can’t ‘Bear’ Arms Unless You Can Carry Them for Self-Defense), New York Governor Kathy Hochul called a special legislative session. Bruen totally demolished the unconstitutional licensing schemes some states had dreamed up to prevent law-abiding citizens from exercising their right to self-defense. To remove more barriers that might hinder New Yorkers from being able to possess firearms, the Special Session was held. The New York Times summarizes the law as follows:
The state’s new gun law bars the carrying of handguns in many public settings such as subways and buses, parks, hospitals, stadiums and day cares. Guns are not allowed on private property, unless their owner expressly permits them. Legislators added Times Square at the very last moment to the restricted site list.
Permit applicants must also undergo 16 hours training in handling guns, two hours firing range training and an interview. They will need to take a written test and have to pass a written exam. Local officials will have some discretion when approving applicants.
This description, at best, is exaggerated by the law.
Guns are also prohibited in private and commercial properties, except where the owners expressly allow them.
— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) July 2, 2022
It also bans sales of certain body armor, which is used in mass shootings such as those at the Buffalo grocery.
— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) July 2, 2022
What New York is trying to do is allow you to carry a weapon, but you just can’t carry it if you have a destination. The Supreme Court allowed states to restrict the carrying of firearms in “sensitive locations,” New York has responded by declaring the world outside your door is such a place. I am not a lawyer, but this strikes me as too cute by half, and I doubt that most of this bullsh** will survive court challenges.
New York also has some discriminatory elements. The “15 hours of in-person training at a firing range” is not only stupid…no one needs to spend 15 hours on a range or attend a classroom at a range to qualify for a concealed carry permit…but a way of ensuring only the wealthy will have the means to obtain the required training. The “in-person” interview is ridiculous and only has one purpose, to discriminate against applicants based on race, age, sex, social class, and political beliefs. It is the equivalent of the “literacy test” so beloved by the party of Jim Crow. Undoubtedly, the most egregious overreach is a required review of an applicant’s social media accounts.
The new law will require people trying to purchase a handgun license to hand over a list of social media accounts they have maintained over the last three years, so officials can verify their “character and conduct.”
According to the measure, applicants must prove they have “the essential character, temperament and judgment necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only in a manner that does not endanger oneself and others.”
“Sometimes, they’re telegraphing their intent to cause harm to others,” Hochul said at a news conference.
It is absurd and a challenge. Bruen’s prohibition on “may issue” permit processes. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone to carry a weapon. You can have a weapon unless you’re prohibited from doing so by federal law. Demands for information from social media accounts or evaluations of the posts are clearly illegal.
New law stipulates that ammunition can only be sold to holders of permits. Purchases made by state residents will be entered in a database. It is unclear how this will be enforced.
Interdiction of the purchase or use of certain body armor is equally illegal.
New York’s strategy is to create court challenges that will take years to play out. New York will then come back with more restrictions after these limitations are removed. The Second Circuit was historically anti-gun and pro totalitarian regulation. Therefore, New York will need to bring their challenges to the Supreme Court.
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