NY Gun Law Loses in Court-AGAIN

Yesterday, United States District Court Judge Sinatra granted a temporary injunction against yet another part of New York’s abominable Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA). You may not be keeping score, but this is the third such injunction granted in just a little over a month.

revolver in the dirt

NYSRPA v Bruen Overview—

As a very brief overview, on June 23rd of this year, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case New York State Rifle and Pistol Association vs Bruen (NYSRPA v Bruen). The case dealt with the question of issuing concealed carry permits, and if New York’s law requiring an applicant show ‘proper cause’ was constitutional. Ultimately, the court found that a “proper cause” requirement violated the 14th Amendment because it prevented law-abiding citizens who have ordinary self-defense needs—as opposed to specific articulable reasons that show they may be vulnerable to harm—from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. That was a big win for freedom.

But arguably more impactful was the way by which the court reached its decision. They did not use a means-based test for determining the law’s constitutionality. Rather, they used a historical and textual understanding of the Second Amendment. This set precedent for the lense by which lower courts should view Second Amendment cases.

Here is a good article titled: A Small Step For Guns, A Giant Shift In Constitutional Analysis: Did The Supreme Court Rewrite Constitutional Analysis In NYSRPA v. Bruen? that explains this important, and overlooked aspect of the Bruen decision.

New York’s Response to Bruen—

Now back to New York and the CCIA mess. Almost immediately, New York Gov. Hochul called an emergency session of the NY Legislature to pass strict gun laws in reaction to the SCOTUS ruling. What came out was the disastrous CCIA; and it didn’t take a legal degree to see that most of, if not the entire law, was unconstitutional. As a result, many legal challenges quickly made their way to the court.

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Antonyk v Hochul—

On October 6th U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby issued a temporary restraining order in the case Antonyuk v. Hochul. On October 11th, we published this post, which summarized the case. The injunction froze portions of the CCIA, such as establishing broad ‘sensitive areas’ where licensed concealed carriers could not carry, and a requirement that permit applicants would have their social media scoured as part of the vetting process.

Strike one.

Hardaway v Negrelli—

Then, on October 22nd, US District Judge Sinatra issued his first restraining order against a portion of the NY CCIA law, in the case Hardaway v. Negrelli. The plaintiffs’, Trinity Baptist Church’s Rev. Jimmie Hardaway Jr., Open Praise Full Gospel Baptist Church’s Bishop Larry A. Boyd, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), and the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), challenge that the portion of NY Gun law that prohibits concealed carry in places of worship. It ultimately should be the leadership of that place of worship, and not the state who determines whether or not to allow concealed carry.

Strike two.

Christian v Negrelli—

Judge Sinatra whacked the pinata again, and issued another restraining order. This time in the case, Christian v. Negrelli. Joined by the Firearms Police Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation, Brett Christian challenges the CCIA’s prohibition against allowing licensed concealed carriers to carry on private property.

Strike three.

Wrapping up—

Each case comes at the CCIA from a different angle and exposes the law for what it is, an overreach by the state government to punish and harass law-abiding citizens’ right to carry a firearm. These injunctions are not permanent and there is still much to come in these cases, so we will have to stay tuned. While it’s good to see clearly unconstitutional legislation like the CCIA get beaten down by the courts, we need to remember that without these people and organization’s efforts to push back, police would enforce these laws. The police don’t make the laws, but they are the ones sworn to uphold the state constitution. Stay engaged at the state level, and at election time, hold Republican and Democrat lawmakers accountable, if they pass laws which violate basic freedoms.

A Valuable Resource—

Here is a perfect time to remind you about the best legal resource for concealed carriers

Here is a fantastic resource that you can use to determine any state’s firearm laws, and much, much more. Our App called Concealed Carry Gun Tools.

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—Michael Hammond, Legislative Counsel, Gun Owners of America

As an Attorney who has built a practice around Self-Defense law; I often have to remind clients that gun law, generally speaking is nothing like self-defense law. Unlike self-defense law, gun law varies enormously from state to state and while many gun owners will never be involved in a lethal self-defense incident; most are impacted daily by gun laws. The Legal Boundaries by State book is an impressive reference guide for relevant gun laws for today’s traveling gun owner. It is well organized and easy to understand. Further, customers get ongoing no-cost access to the most updated version of the eBook which is a significant value. Don’t leave home without it!

—Andrew Branca, Attorney & Author, Law of Self Defense

1 Comments

  1. Lorenzo on March 24, 2023 at 6:05 pm

    The NYPD doesn’t have a ccw option, unless you are a business owner or law enforcement. Is that legal ?

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