ALBANY, N.Y. (WRGB) — A recently passed New York state law prohibiting licensed firearm owners from carrying concealed firearms on all private property is unconstitutional, a federal judge has said.
The ruling handed down Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York follows a December 2023 ruling by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
This law makes it a felony for concealed carry permit holders to carry firearms on any private property (unless expressly authorized by the property owner). District Court Judge John Sinatra Jr. wrote that the state cannot enforce the rule on private property that is open to the public.
“Regulation in this area is permissible only if the government proves that the new statute is consistent with America’s historic tradition of sufficiently similar regulations. New York State failed that test here. In fact, property owners have the right to exclude, but the state may not unilaterally exercise that right and thereby seek to act in self-defense on private property that is open to the public. “It would interfere with the long-established Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” Judge Sinatra wrote.
New York state cannot enforce this part of the law, which also includes prohibitions on concealed carry in “sensitive areas” such as government property, religious facilities, medical facilities, parks, libraries, and places that serve alcohol. An appeals court in December upheld the sensitive location clause, but sent the other clauses back to a lower court.
Read more: New York state’s new concealed carry law takes effect, what permit applicants need to know
New York City Attorney General Letitia James said in December 2023, “My office will continue to uphold New York’s gun laws and do everything we can to protect New Yorkers from senseless gun violence.”
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik praised Thursday’s decision.
“Despite Kathy Hochul and radical New York Democrats’ repeated attempts to target law-abiding New York gun owners, today’s ruling in the Western District of New York simply applies “The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent common-sense decision strikes down Kathy Hochul’s unconstitutional overreach and wins New Yorkers’ Second Amendment rights.” When it comes to the Second Amendment, Kathy Hochul and the New York Democratic Party refuse to abide by the Constitution. I applaud today’s ruling and will always fight for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding New Yorkers,” Stefanik (R-N.Y., 21) said in a news release.
In a 2022 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 100-year-old rule that made it easier for New York gun owners to apply for and obtain concealed carry permits. Since 1913, New York state law has required those seeking a concealed carry permit to show “good cause” or justification for carrying.
Read more: Extraordinary Congress convenes to enact gun safety law after Supreme Court ruling
Governor Hochul summoned state lawmakers back to Albany days after the Supreme Court ruling and less than a month after the Legislature adjourned to strengthen existing gun laws.