A partial victory for concealed carry in New York was celebrated by a gun rights group with a commitment to send the “entire law…to the bowels of history where it belongs.”
“Nevertheless, this was not a total victory…”
Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a 261-page ruling that struck down portions of New York state’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA). While restrictions for carrying on private property open to the public and requirements for social media disclosures were defeated, surviving rules, such the need to prove “good moral character,” left Second Amendment defenders asserting the court hadn’t gone far enough.
In a statement following the enjoining of the provisions, Gun Owners of America (GOA) Senior Vice President Erich Pratt took aim at New York’s overreaching Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) as he said, “Governor Hochul and her cabal in Albany never seem to get the message, and in turn, GOA is proud to have played a major role in rebuking her unconstitutional law.”
“Nevertheless, this was not a total victory, and we will continue to fight until this entire law is sent to the bowels of history where it belongs,” he continued.
As had been reported, Friday’s decision from a three-judge panel was the first ruling on concealed carry since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen.
GOA contended the “Court’s opinion reads like a repudiation of Bruen, finding ways to claim its holdings don’t apply here,” and the Gun Owners Foundation called the ruling “a mixed bag, affirming some of our victories and reversing others.”
THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!
The 2nd Circuit repeatedly claims it doesn’t need to follow Bruen and the Supreme Court’s precedent was limited only to THAT decision, because of Bruen’s alleged “exceptional nature.” https://t.co/ZK2GzZHlzf
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) December 8, 2023
Speaking on behalf of the foundation’s board of directors, Sam Paredes said, “It’s encouraging that the Court blocked the intrusive social media provisions, but just as intrusive are the processes needed to confirm someone is ‘of good moral character,’ which the Court has inexplicably chosen to uphold. Frustratingly, much of this Court’s opinion reads like an insubordinate rebuke of the Supreme Court, which is a disgrace and cannot be allowed to stand. We are weighing action at the nation’s High Court.”
The panel wrote, “The CCIA’s definition of ‘character’ is a proxy for dangerousness: whether the applicant, if licensed to carry a firearm, is likely to pose a danger to himself, others, or public safety,” and referred to the metric as a “spongy concept susceptible to abuse.”
“[A] licensing decision that uses ‘good moral character’ as a smokescreen to deny licenses for impermissible reasons untethered to dangerousness, such as the applicant’s lifestyle or political preferences, would violate the Constitution by relying on a ground for disarmament for which there is no historical basis,” determined the judges.
Adding weight to the Second Amendment proponent’s assertion that legal challenges were far from over, George Soros-backed New York Attorney General Letitia James also celebrated the panel’s ruling and wrote on social media, “Today, a federal court allowed a majority of the provisions of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act to remain in effect as the court process moves forward. My office will continue to defend New York’s commonsense gun safety laws and protect our communities.”
Today, a federal court allowed a majority of the provisions of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act to remain in effect as the court process moves forward.
My office will continue to defend New York’s commonsense gun safety laws and protect our communities.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) December 8, 2023
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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