Angry gun retailers lash out at the Supreme Court after it ended its attempt to block New York’s gun laws
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The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an offer by New York gun retailers to strike down state-enforced gun laws, which they said threatened their businesses.
The laws were introduced by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
She acted after the Supreme Court in June struck down a 1913 New York law that made it very difficult to obtain a concealed-carry permit.
Under the nearly 110-year-old rule, New Yorkers, unlike residents of most other states, had to show “good cause” in order to carry concealed weapons. The restrictions were so strict that permits were hardly ever issued and were mainly targeted at business owners handling large amounts of cash, celebrities facing death threats and retired police officers.
The list of concealed-carry license holders in New York City was not public, but a 2011 New York Times analysis found that about 4,000 people in the city had permits.
Paloma Capanna (left), the lead attorney for nine New York gun retailers, said they were disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision, which upheld laws laid out by New York Attorney General Letitia James (right)
In June, the Supreme Court struck down a New York law that required applicants for a concealed carry license to show “adequate cause” for their application. In response, New York Attorney General Letitia James introduced new restrictions. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to its laws.
In June, the Supreme Court struck down the status quo and said it was against the Second Amendment to place such restrictions on gun ownership.
California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island have similar laws. The Biden administration had urged judges to uphold the New York law.
Dozens of states already allow the carrying of guns in public with almost no restrictions, but the six Democratic-led states maintain a high degree of control over who gets a permit.
About a quarter of the US population lives in states expected to be affected by the ruling, the first major gun decision by the high court in more than a decade.
In response, James implemented a new law that prohibits carrying a gun in “sensitive areas,” such as stadiums, places of worship, museums, parks, and other public places.
It imposes revised record keeping and new security requirements on retailers, and requires background checks on all ammunition purchases.
Gun owners complained to the Supreme Court, which on Wednesday dismissed their complaint, without giving any explanation.
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an offer by New York gun retailers to stop state gun laws.
Paloma Capanna, the lead attorney for the nine New York gun retailers, said Fox Digital News they were disappointed by the Supreme Court decision, which they say places unreasonable demands on business owners.
“We are disappointed that none of the nine judges saw fit to grant the plaintiffs any stay of the application of the new laws against them,” he said.
“We are challenging New York State’s ability to target firearms dealers in the legal commerce stream, to put them out of business, which is what the new laws will do.
“So it was really unfortunate to see that we couldn’t get any emergency temporary injunctions against those laws.”
Capanna argued that the record-keeping requirement was excessive.
“The list of new mandatory compliances even goes as far as rotating acquisition and disposition records, which New York State attorneys have conceded will be used to create the first gun ownership registry housed by the New York State Police. York”. she added.
But James hailed the decision, describing it as a victory for common sense.
Wednesday’s order comes a week after the high court rejected a separate bid by gun rights activists to block James’ law, the Concealed Carry Improvement Act.
“For the second time this month, the United States Supreme Court has allowed New York’s gun safety laws to remain in effect,” he tweeted.
“We will continue to uphold our common sense laws that protect New Yorkers.”
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, a former police officer who revealed during the election campaign that, as a former officer and public figure, he planned to carry a concealed weapon in public after taking office, also praised the Supreme Court decision. .
“The Concealed Carry Improvement Act and state nuisance statutes are critical to damming the rivers that feed the sea of gun violence in our communities,” he said.
“We stand with @NewYorkStateAG and the state in their continued fight to keep New Yorkers safe.”