Federal judge blocks New York's concealed carry law

A federal judge in New York temporarily blocked parts of the state's revised concealed carry gun law, saying it is too strict and should not have barred weapons from being carried in areas such as public playgrounds and health care facilities.

Judge Glenn Suddaby said that the law, which went into effect Sept. 1, was more problematic than the earlier version that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year. A temporary restraining order was issued by Suddaby blocking a number of the law's restrictions, including the barring of the concealed carry of firearms in a number of sensitive locations. Among the locations where Suddaby found restrictions to be lifted were libraries, public playgrounds, zoos, subways, trains, ferries, domestic violence and homeless shelters, summer camps and New York City's Times Square.

The court s view is that the common thread that they are tying together is the fact that they all relate to locations where 1 people typically congregate or visit and 2 law-enforcement or other security professionals are presumably readily available, despite the lack of historical analogs supporting these particular provisions.

He ordered the ruling to be stayed for three days to give the state time to appeal, which state Attorney General Letitia James said her office would do.

The decision preserves portions of the law, but we believe that the entire law must be preserved as enacted. James said we will appeal the decision, saying that common-sense gun control regulations help save lives. In July, the state passed a new law banning firearms in public places and tightening permitting requirements in July after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a century-old provision in New York that required gun owners to carry a handgun outside their homes to prove they have a unique need for self-protection.

The new law, called the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, required people seeking concealed carry permits to show they're of good moral character, provide character references, contact information of family members and people they live with, and provide information about their social media accounts.

A group of gun owners filed a suit in federal court in Syracuse, charging that the new law violated their Second Amendment rights. In his ruling on Thursday, Suddaby agreed that some of its restrictions are unconstitutional.

New York State has further entrenched itself as a shall-not issue jurisdiction instead of moving toward becoming a shall-issue jurisdiction. By doing so, it has reduced a first-class constitutional right to bear arms in public for self defense into a mere request, Suddaby wrote.

He let the law's provisions stand, including the need for character references and at least 16 hours of in-person firearms training.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who signed the bill into law, said in a statement that it is deeply disappointing that the judge wants to keep New Yorkers safe and to prevent more senseless gun violence. We are working with the attorney general's office to review the decision carefully and discuss next steps in an appeal.