A federal district court judge in New York has ruled several provisions in New York State’s new gun law—hastily assembled after the state’s previous concealed carry statute was nullified by the U.S. Supreme Court in June—are unconstitutional.
U.S. District Court Judge Glenn Suddaby, a 2002 George W. Bush appointee, said the definition of “sensitive places” in the new law are unconstitutionally broad, according to a report in The Blaze.
Judge Suddabay delayed implementation of his ruling for 72 hours, allowing the state time to prepare an appeal.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement in which she declared, “Today’s decision comes in the wake of mass shootings and rampant gun violence hurting communities here in New York and across the country. While the decision preserves portions of the law, we believe the entire law must be preserved as enacted.”
The judge noted in his ruling that the new law’s requirement a carry permit applicant must show proof of “good moral character” since the state’s previous requirement for providing evidence of “good cause,” and he turned thumbs down on this mandate.
“Setting aside the subjective nature of these assessments,” Judge Suddaby wrote, “shouldering an applicant with the burden of showing that he or she is of such ‘good moral character’ (in the face of a de facto presumption that he or she is not) is akin to shouldering an applicant with the burden of showing that he or she has a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community, which is prohibited under NYSRPA. In essence, New York State has replaced its requirement that an applicant show a special need for self-protection with its requirement that the applicant rebut the presumption that he or she is a danger to himself or herself, while retaining (and even expanding) the open-ended discretion afforded to its licensing officers.”
The case, known as Antonyuk v. Bruen for lead plaintiff Ivan Antonyuk, was supported by Gun Owners of America. The judge’s 53-page ruling also nixed the idea of prohibiting concealed carry in such places as Times Square or the New York City subway system.
