New gun laws in New York are temporarily blocked by a US judge.
A federal court in New York temporarily barred provisions of the state’s new gun law on Thursday to allow an advocacy group, Gun Owners of America, to file a lawsuit contesting the legislation.
New gun law
The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, which declared for the first time that Americans have a constitutional right to carry guns in public, is one of the most notable triumphs for gun-owners’ rights groups in their fight against gun restrictions around the country.
The law in New York, which went into effect on September 1, is being keenly monitored by other jurisdictions in the nation where gun crime has increased.
The state’s gun licensing system was declared to be illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court in July following a challenge by the New York chapter of the National Rifle Association, a significant gun-owners’ rights organisation. As a result, lawmakers in the state’s democratically controlled legislature passed the law during an emergency session.
The NY government would have three days to appeal his decision to a higher court.
Six New York people who are Gun Owners of America members—a group that competes with the National Rifle Association in terms of political influence—asked Chief Judge Glenn Suddaby of the U.S. District Court in Syracuse to make the order.
It established a broad list of public and private locations where owning a gun became a felony crime, even for license holders, and sets down new procedures for obtaining a license, including submitting social media profiles for examination.
The New York government would have three days to file an appeal of his decision with a higher court, he said, so his order would not go into force until then.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on gun prohibitions, will be appealed.
Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, said in a statement that her agency intended to appeal. “Mass shootings and widespread gun violence are harming communities here in New York and around the country,” she said of the decision made today. “We believe the entire statute must be kept as enacted, even while the decision maintains elements of the law.”
Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul and the legislative leaders of New York have expressed shock at the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision from June. They cautioned that increased public gun ownership will increase gun violence.
However, they decided to remove a clause from the state’s statute that the Supreme Court had said was unconstitutional because it allowed officials the subjective authority to refuse New Yorkers’ requests for gun permits.
New guidelines for carrying gun.
Concealed Carry Weapon Act, which was just passed by the state, also included new guidelines. It states that candidates must offer at least four character references and submit their social media accounts for a government official’s evaluation.
The state is prohibited from applying those new license rules by Suddaby’s order.
New critical areas or sensitive sites.
There is a long list of new “critical areas” where carrying a gun is illegal.
- Schools and colleges,
- governmental structures,
- healthcare facilities,
- public transportation,
- alcoholic beverage-serving pubs and restaurants,
“the area usually known as Times Square,” and parks are all included.
The list of sensitive locations was significantly condensed by Suddaby’s decree, according to which government buildings, schools, and colleges may continue to be sensitive locations but many other categories cannot.
On a person’s privately owned land, it is prohibited to possess a handgun.
Further, the rule made it illegal to possess a firearm on a person’s privately owned property unless the owner or lessee has put a notice stating that firearms are permitted there. This clause was repealed by Suddaby, who limited the exclusion to privately fenced-in farmland.
