New Ruling from 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Regarding NY Gun Laws

by M.C. Millman 

In the first broad review of the slew of new New York State gun rules passed after a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year, as reported by Rockland Daily here, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked some aspects of New York's new gun rules on Friday, including a ban on people bringing firearms into houses of worship or onto private property without the consent of the owner.

The ruling also refused to allow a new requirement from New York State that handgun license applicants share a list of social media accounts from the past three years due to free speech concerns, calling it an "infringement on Second Amendment rights".

In the 261-page ruling, the court ruled not to allow the state to continue its ban on firearms in "sensitive" locations, such as public transportation, hospitals, and schools. 

It did, though, allow the requirement that handgun owners be of "good moral character" to stand, stating that it was "not facially unconstitutional" for New York State to require applicants to be of good moral character. 

"A reasoned denial of a carry license to a person who, if armed, would pose a danger to themselves, others, or to the public is consistent with the well-recognized historical tradition of preventing dangerous individuals from possessing weapons," the court wrote.

As for banning guns in houses of worship, the three judges ruled that the state violated religious liberty by creating a different set of rules for a house of worship than for places where groups of people gather for activities that are not religious.

"At this stage, the State has not demonstrated that allowing church leaders to regulate their congregants' firearms is more dangerous than allowing other property owners to do the same," the ruling states. "It hard to see how the law advances the interests of religious organizations, as a whole, by denying them agency to choose for themselves whether to permit firearms."

"We will continue fighting until this ruling is applied and all unconstitutional laws are stricken," the New York State Jewish Gun Club stated on X, "and we can freely exercise our First and Second Amendment rights."