New York’s ban on concealed carry of firearms ruled unconstitutional by judge

The decision runs counter to the gun control agenda of Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and the New York State Assembly which has pushed laws to restrict the ownership and use of firearms in the state. In June 2022, the US Supreme Court rejected another New York handgun law that forced residents to prove a need for self-defense if they carried a handgun in public.

That decision prompted Hochul to push the state legislature to make existing gun laws more resilient to legal challenges. In his decision, Sinatra, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, said the state has no right to enforce a gun law on private property, even if it is publicly accessible.

"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," Sinatra wrote. "New York fails that test here. Indeed, property owners have the right to exclude. But 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." The plaintiffs in the case included a private citizen, Brett Christian, the Firearms Policy Coalition, and the Second Amendment Foundation.

"We are delighted with Judge Sinatra's ruling," Alan Gottlieb, the founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, wrote in a news release. "Once again, Empire State anti-gunners have been held in check by a judge who understands the Second Amendment is not a second-class right. The State tried to perpetuate its virtual ban on legal carry by prohibiting firearms on all private property open to the public for whatever reason, and the judge correctly said this restriction does not pass constitutional muster."

Court documents show how Christian, a licensed gun owner from Cheektowaga, New York, challenged New York's Concealed Carry Improvement Act by saying it prohibited him from carrying a gun to defend himself. Sinatra also said the state would not get its requested 14-day stay while it decided whether to appeal the ruling.

"Despite Kathy Hochul and radical New York Democrats' repeated attempts to target law-abiding New York gun owners, today's ruling from the Western District of New York delivers a win for New Yorkers' Second Amendment rights, striking down Kathy Hochul's unconstitutional overreach by simply applying recent common-sense rulings of the United States Supreme Court," Rep. Elise Stefanik, (R-N.Y) and chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, wrote in a news release. "When it comes to the Second Amendment, Kathy Hochul and New York Democrats refuse to follow the Constitution. I applaud today's ruling and will always fight for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding New Yorkers."