On Monday, the Supreme Court denied a challenge to New York’s recently enacted gun restrictions, deferring a new case on the right to bear arms.
The law, which the court had previously refused to put on hold, went into effect immediately after the justices expanded the right to carry a firearm outside the home in June 2022.
The decision upholds an October ruling by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld key provisions while striking others down.
A ban on concealed firearms in “sensitive locations,” such as hospitals, churches, parks, entertainment venues, and other gathering places, remains in effect. So does a provision requiring gun owners to demonstrate “good moral character” in order to obtain concealed carry licenses.
A ban on concealed firearms on publicly accessible private property, as well as a requirement for people applying for concealed carry licenses to provide information about their social media accounts, remain in place.
The Supreme Court’s 2022 decision sparked a wave of new restrictions in some states as well as court rulings that overturned long-standing gun laws. Both developments have resulted in a flurry of court appeals requesting that the justices clarify the scope of the 2022 ruling.
Ivan Antonyuk and five other people initiated the challenge, claiming they want to carry firearms outside the home.
A month after the Supreme Court overturned a century-old provision in New York requiring gun owners who want to carry handguns outside their homes to prove that they have unique needs for self-defense, New York legislators passed a law prohibiting firearms in many public places and tightening permitting requirements.
The new law, known as the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, also requires applicants to provide character references, contact information for family members and people they live with, and social media accounts.
In July, the Supreme Court sidestepped several gun-related disputes after upholding a federal law that prohibits people under domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms.
In a case that did not directly address the right to bear arms, the court last month upheld the Biden administration’s attempt to regulate “ghost gun” kits that can be easily assembled into firearms.