New York lawmakers voted on Friday to pass new gun laws that ban weapons from a long list of “sensitive places,” including Times Square, and require people who want to get more training and use their guns to be safe. Want gun licenses to submit social media accounts to government review.
The bill, led by New York Governor Cathy Hochul, a Democrat, was expected to be signed into law, taking effect on September 1.
Emergency legislative session began on Thursday, when a conservative majority of the Supreme Court repealed New York’s restrictive gun-licensing laws and ruled for the first time that the US Constitution gives a person the right to carry a weapon in public for self-defense. .
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Democratic leaders in New York have slammed the ruling, saying there will be more gun violence if there are more people with guns. He acknowledged that he must now loosen the state’s centuries-old permit scheme, but sought to impose as many restrictions as possible in the name of public safety, which could end up a target for more legal challenges.
The court ruled that legislators were changing the law, giving officials too much discretion to refuse permission.
Hochul, who ordered an extraordinary session in the legislature, said New York has the fifth lowest rate of gun deaths of the 50 US states as a result of the state’s gun-licensing rules.
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“Our state will continue to keep New Yorkers safe from harm, even in the face of this setback from the Supreme Court,” he told a news conference in Albany, adding that lawmakers were still debating the bill. “They may think they can change our lives with the flick of a pen, but we also have the pen.”
The court allowed that certain “sensitive locations” could ban people from carrying weapons, but warned lawmakers against applying the label too broadly. The court also made it easier for pro-gun groups to overturn a gun regulation, ruling that a weapons regulation was possibly unconstitutional if it did not resemble the rules around the 18th century, when the Second Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. Went.
The bill’s list of vulnerable places includes: government buildings, medical facilities, places of worship, libraries, playgrounds, parks, zoos, schools, colleges, summer camps, addiction-support centers, homeless shelters, nursing homes, public including New York Transportation City Metro, places where alcohol or marijuana is consumed, museums, theaters, stadiums and other places, polling places and Times Square.
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Republican lawmakers complained that the bill undermined the right to bear arms compared to other constitutional rights, such as freedom of expression and freedom of religion.
“Now, it will be easier to get concealed-carry [license]Mike Lawler, a Republican member of the Assembly, said during the debate. “But you’re not going to be able to take it anywhere.”
coercive violation
The National Rifle Association, the powerful gun-owners’ rights group whose New York ally was the successful lead plaintiff in last week’s Supreme Court case, said the bill was a “blatant violation” of the court’s decision and further obstacles for New Yorkers. was producing Self-defense right, indicating that it may soon face legal challenges.
“Gov. Hochul and his Anti-Second Amendment colleagues in Albany have defied the United States Supreme Court with a deliberate malicious rewrite of New York’s concealment law,” Darin Hohns, state director of the New York NRA, said in a statement.
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The court ruled in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen that New York officials had too much subjective discretion over which gun-license applicants could enjoy what it said was a constitutional right. Applicants were denied a concealed-carry permit if they could not explain to an officer a “reasonable reason” or some sort of special reason for carrying a handgun for self-defense. read more
Reluctantly and without protest, Hochul agreed that the state should do away with the “reasonable cause” requirements, although the bill still requires licensing officers to ensure that the applicant is of “good moral character”.
The proposed new licensing rules require applicants to meet with a licensing officer, usually a judge or police officer, for a personal interview, and provide contact details of certain immediate family members and any adults living with them.
The bill also makes carrying a gun on private business premises a felony unless the business affirmatively posts a notice stating that concealed weapons are welcome.
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