Supreme Court Keeps New York’s Updated Gun Control Law In Effect—At Least For Now

Topline

The Supreme Court left New York’s updated concealed carry law, which prohibits firearms from being carried in “sensitive locations,” in effect on Wednesday as legal challenges against it move forward, rebuffing an effort by gun rights advocates to block the law even after the Supreme Court struck New York’s previous concealed carry law down as unconstitutional.

Key Facts

No justices dissented in the ruling, but Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas said in a statement that they believed the ruling was to “reflect respect” for the appeals court that had previously let the law stay in effect, and did not “[express] any view on the merits of the case.”

Gun owners asked the Supreme Court to block the law after a district court judge previously blocked it from staying in effect, but the Second Circuit Court of Appeals then overruled that decision and let the law stand as the litigation against it moved forward.

New York’s law, enacted after the Supreme Court struck down the state’s previous concealed carry policy in June, regulates requirements for obtaining a concealed carry license and imposes more specific restrictions on when firearms can be carried in public, banning them from “sensitive” locations like schools, churches and hospitals.

The plaintiffs asked the Supreme Court to block the law, arguing that letting the Second Circuit’s ruling stand and keeping it in effect “indefinitely suspend[s] the protections afforded New Yorkers by the Second Amendment.”

The Supreme Court was only asked to consider whether the Second Circuit’s ruling that kept the law temporarily in effect should stand, and was not asked to rule on the merits of the case and the concealed carry law itself.

What To Watch For

The legality of the New York law will now play out in the lower courts, and it’s possible it could reach the Supreme Court again. If it does, it’s more likely the 6-3 conservative court could rule against the law. Alito and Thomas suggested as such in their statement, saying the gun owners who oppose the law “should not be deterred” by the court’s ruling Wednesday from seeking relief from it again if the Second Circuit doesn’t act quickly enough to consider the case. The Supreme Court is also considering another case on the New York law, which wasn’t included in Wednesday’s ruling, so it’s possible the court could rule in the law’s favor in this case but then decide to block it in response to a different lawsuit.

Key Background

The Supreme Court issued a sweeping ruling in June that struck down New York’s previous law—which gave state officials more power to liberally reject many concealed carry applications—and declared the Second Amendment’s right to “bear arms” includes “carrying handguns publicly for self-defense.” The court’s ruling prompted New York to near-immediately enact an updated law in an attempt to comply with the ruling, imposing more objective requirements for obtaining a concealed carry license and specifying exactly where concealed weapons aren’t permitted, rather than more vague prohibitions under the previous law. The updated law still attracted criticism and legal complaints from gun rights activists, and U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby, a Trump appointee, subsequently temporarily blocked major parts of the law, including most sensitive locations and the stricter requirements for obtaining a license. The Second Circuit then ruled a week later to temporarily reinstate the blocked parts of the law—one of several times it’s ruled on the New York law’s legality as multiple cases challenging it have ended up before the court.

Tangent

The Supreme Court’s ruling has had impacts in states beyond New York, as other states that previously had similar concealed carry laws in place have also been forced to adjust or rescind their policies. Those updated laws are also facing legal challenges: A federal judge in New Jersey struck down parts of that state’s similar law on Monday, taking aim at the list of locations it had imposed for where concealed weapons can’t be carried and ruling the restrictions were “so extensive and burdensome” as to make the right to “armed self-defense in public a nullity.”

Further Reading

Supreme Court asked to step in on New York concealed carry firearm law (CNN)

New York’s gun law remains in effect as court gives more time for arguments (Reuters)

New Gun Laws Take Effect After Supreme Court Struck Down New York’s Last Attempt — Here’s What To Know (Forbes)

Supreme Court Strikes Down N.Y. Concealed Carry Law—Could Lead To Rollbacks Nationwide (Forbes)