Gun laws and rights have always been hot topics in America. Some Americans believe that stricter gun laws are the best way to curb gun violence. Meanwhile, others continue to insist that gun ownership is a right that the government shouldn’t take away.
Nonetheless, the federal and state governments continue to work tirelessly to find a common ground where guns can be owned safely and legally.
Last Friday, December 8, 2023, a federal appeals court in New York ruled that the state can ban gun owners with permits from carrying concealed weapons in certain places. Such places include bars, public parks, theaters, and other public spaces.
This makes it the first time that a federal appeals court would be considering limitations to where legally licensed gun owners can go armed.
Last year, the Supreme Court announced a more detailed interpretation of the Second Amendment that reevaluated various gun regulations. That court ruling loosened New York’s strict rules for obtaining a concealed handgun permit in public.
A couple of days after the ruling, the state of New York passed a new licensing and carry law known as the Concealed Carry Improvement Act.
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The new law categorized a long list of places as “sensitive locations,” including stadiums, parks, bars, and protest rallies. Moreover, handguns are already prohibited at those locations with or without a permit.
However, a three-judge panel of the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t change most of New York’s new gun-free zones. This is contrary to a ruling last year by a trial judge that declared a majority of them unconstitutional.
Furthermore, the panel found that most of the restrictions aligned with America’s tradition of firearms regulations. They rejected the trial-judge findings that the restrictions were not based on the nation’s historical background.
The appeals court also rejected other provisions, including the requirement for gun license applicants to provide their social media information during the screening.
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According to the panel, such a requirement means that applicants would “effectively forfeit their right to pseudonymous speech on social media (where so much speech now takes place).” The New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, supported the ruling, saying that it maintained the core tenets of the law. “Public safety is my top priority, and I’ll continue my efforts to keep New Yorkers safe,” she added.
Additionally, lower courts have had a tough time implementing the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling. So, there’s a possibility that New York’s regulations could be revisited at the Supreme Court. Although the Second Circuit’s ruling backed the state on specific issues, it agreed that some provisions violated the right to bear arms.
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The panel consisted of Judges Eunice Lee, Gerard Lynch, and Dennis Jacobs. They said that the state may evaluate the moral character of applicants. The panel also added that the state needed to limit the evaluation to applicants that could be potentially dangerous.
“Licensing officers across New York may consider whether an applicant for a firearm license can be trusted to use that gun in a responsible, safe way,” the panel said. It also said the state couldn’t ban people from carrying firearms on private properties with public access. The court also considered it quite unconstitutional to prohibit guns in places of worship while private businesses could have weapons on their property.
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