After the Supreme Court blocked New York’s highly restrictive gun law earlier this year, a federal judge has just done the same thing to parts of the new law.
Specifically, the judge ruled that New York can’t just deem places in the city like Times Square as a gun-free zone.
Also, the judge ruled that requiring social media accounts from people requesting a gun permit is going too far.
Here’s more from the AP:
A federal judge halted key provisions Thursday of New York’s latest attempt to restrict who can carry a handgun in public and where firearms can be brought, saying multiple parts of a law the state passed this year are unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby focused on multiple parts of the law, saying licensing requirements — like a rule requiring applicants to turn over information about their social media accounts — went too far.
“Simply stated, instead of moving toward becoming a shall-issue jurisdiction, New York State has further entrenched itself as a shall-not-issue jurisdiction. And, by doing so, it has further reduced a first-class constitutional right to bear arms in public for self defense … into a mere request,” wrote Suddaby, who sits in Syracuse.
The ruling would keep restrictions in place that bar firearms from being carried into schools, government buildings and places of worship, but the judge said the state couldn’t ban guns from other sensitive locations, such as Times Square.
The judge gave the state three business days to seek emergency relief before a federal appeals court.
The rules were part of a sweeping gun law that went into effect Sept. 1 designed to protect public safety while adhering to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidated New York’s old system for granting permits to carry handguns outside the home.
This judge sees right through what New York tried to do with this new law, pointing out that they are still trying to be a “shall-not-issue jurisdiction” instead of a “shall-issue jurisdiction”.
And he’s absolutely right. Requiring social media histories just gives these authoritarians one more avenue to deny someone’s request.
Banning guns from places in the city like Times Square, which is really just an outdoor street location with a lot of stores, neon lights and big screens, means any tourist in the city who wants to go there as part of their trip can’t carry a gun on the day they go there.
Honestly, I think making places of worship gun free zones also goes way too far. But the George Bush appointee apparently felt that was appropriate.
I’m sure New York will appeal this decision and it will probably end up before the Supreme Court again, before this is all over.