When the Supreme Court ruled in June that New York’s laws around carrying guns in public were too strict, the state was ready. Democratic legislators quickly passed a carefully tailored new law they hoped would circumvent limits imposed by the Court’s decision yet still pass legal muster. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the bill July 1.
But the state’s plan hit a roadblock Thursday when a federal judge deemed major elements of the law unconstitutional. Judge Glenn Suddaby limited the number of places New York could mandate as gun-free zones, striking Times Square and New York City subways off that list. Both locations have seen high-profile shootings in recent months. He also ruled that certain restrictions New York put into place — like mandating that people who apply for gun permits allow authorities to examine their social-media feeds — ran afoul of the Supreme Court ruling.
Per the AP, Suddaby wrote that New York had “further reduced a first-class constitutional right to bear arms in public for self defense.”
That doesn’t mean the law has been officially voided — yet. Suddaby gave the state three days to file an emergency appeal with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which it is almost certain to do. That court may issue a stay, allowing the law to remain in effect for a certain amount of time, and it may take the case itself. The six plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit, all gun owners from New York State, told the New York Times they would appeal to the Supreme Court if the Second Circuit doesn’t rule their way.
In a 6-3 decision in June, the Supreme Court ruled against New York — and, by extension, five other states — in a case testing the state’s broad prohibitions against guns in public. The Court did allow limits for public carrying in certain undefined locations. New York ran with that ambiguity, attempting to designate broad swaths of the city as firearm free. The limits of that strategy became clear Thursday.
Hochul expressed her disapproval in response to the Thursday ruling:
