New York Gun Control Regime Loses Yet Again

Second Amendment supporters, otherwise known as law-abiding citizens, have one more win under their belts as a federal judge has ruled that New York State's expansive gun control regime once again violated the constitutional rights of Americans by enacting a state law that bans licensed firearms owners from carrying concealed weapons on all private property without the owner’s consent. On October 10th, U.S. District Court Judge John Sinatra, Jr., a Trump appointee, not only ruled on the side of the United States Constitution and in concert with the U.S. Supreme Court guidelines set in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, he also denied a motion from New York for a two-week stay on the decision, reasoning that the state Attorney General's attempt to appeal the ruling is unlikely to succeed on the merits. 

"At least as to private property open to the public (the subject of this motion), New York's restriction is unconstitutional… Regulation in this area is permissible only if the government demonstrates that the new enactment is consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of sufficiently analogous regulations… New York fails that test here,” wrote Sinatra, Jr., citing recent Supreme Court precedent.

Sinatra points out that, while property owners retain the right to exclude licensed gun owners from carrying firearms on their property, "the state may not unilaterally exercise that right and, thereby, interfere with the long-established Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens who seek to carry for self-defense on private property open to the public." Second Amendment organizations praised Sinatra's decision, knowing, however, that they have a long road ahead as leftist anti-liberty groups in collusion with the government will continue to shift the goalposts as they attack American’s right to bear arms using any creatively corrupt measure they can muster.

"This is yet another important victory for Second Amendment rights and another major loss for New York, authoritarian governments, and radical anti-rights organizations like Everytown and Giffords… We will continue to fight forward as we work to restore the full scope of the right to keep and bear arms throughout the United States. Hopefully, Kathy Hochul is ready to write another check for legal fees,” said Brandon Combs, the president of Firearms Policy Coalition. 

It is important to point out that every such attack on the constitutional rights of Americans followed by the defense of ensuing lawsuits is funded by our own tax dollars, money which is being spent in bad faith when it can be used to prevent real crime, help veterans who have served our Nation, secure borders, fight homelessness or any manner of more responsible and beneficial spending. Despite this fact, oath breakers like Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul continue to celebrate their gun control policies and even boast publicly about their defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as their willingness to step up attacks on the freedoms protected by the Constitution.

"And you all know what happened when the Supreme Court overturned the laws against concealed carry weapons, stripping away the power of the governor of this state to make her citizens safe. When the Supreme Court did that, we didn't throw up our hands and surrender. We fought back… We doubled down. We came up with legislation. And we have a prohibition on concealed carry weapons in sensitive places. I personally think every place is sensitive,” Hochul said. While an appellate court has allowed a ban on concealed carry in so-called "sensitive places" to stand in certain instances, including theaters, bars, and public parks, Hochul has shown her hand here as she intends to circumvent the law by banning concealed carry all together using language like "sensitive places” to label all spaces in New York. "As we’ve said all along, the ‘sensitive place’ carry restrictions imposed by New York post-Bruen are unconstitutional. Hard stop… We are thrilled that once again, the courts have agreed, and sent this amoral and unlawful ban packing,” said Bill Sack, director of Legal Operations for the Second Amendment Foundation.

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