WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court allows New York to continue enforcing a sweeping new gun law that bans guns from “sensitive locations” like schools and playgrounds for now while a legal challenge is underway.
Judges on Wednesday rejected a law challengers request. The gun owners wanted the High Court to reverse a federal appeals court order temporarily suspending a lower court ruling blocking parts of the law. The appeals court has not completed its review of the case and judges are often reluctant to intervene in these circumstances. Judges may still review the case and the law more generally in the future.
New York lawmakers rewrote state firearms laws over the summer after a June Supreme Court ruling overturned New York’s old system for firearms, allowing handguns to be carried outside the home. The ruling affirmed that Americans have the right to carry guns in public in self-defense, overturning New York law, which required people to show a specific need to obtain a license to carry a gun in public outside the home. . The ruling was a major expansion of gun rights nationwide and prompted challenges to other similar state laws.
New law passed by New York following the ruling greatly expanded who can get a license to carry a gun, but increased educational requirements for applicants and required them to provide more information, including a list of their social media accounts average. Applicants for a license must also demonstrate “good character”. In addition to that, the law included a long list of “sensitive places” where firearms are banned, including: schools, playgrounds, places of worship, places of entertainment, places that serve alcohol, and Times Square.
US District Judge Glenn Suddaby, however, ruled several parts of the law unconstitutional and issued a preliminary injunction barring some provisions. But the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit had stayed that decision while it considered the case. The challengers to the law had asked the High Court to intervene and allow Suddaby’s decision blocking parts of the law to take effect as the case continues.
The Associated Press
