New York Gun Law Overturned By U.S. Supreme Court In Major Ruling

NEW YORK CITY — The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned a New York law that limits people from carrying concealed handguns — a major victory for gun-rights advocates that local leaders fear could cause firearms to flood the city's streets.

The 6-3 decision, with an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, ruled that the state's restrictions violate the Second Amendment. The ruling had been largely expected ever since the majority-conservative court heard arguments in November, with most justices appearing skeptical of the state's century-old law.

The law forces anyone seeking to carry a gun outside their home to go through an extensive review process that requires them to prove they have some extra need to do so — for example, working as a security guard, as THE CITY reported this month.

Thanks to that law, the state only issued about 54,000 carry permits in 2018 and 2019. New York is one of just seven states that impose such limits on handgun carrying permits, THE CITY reported.

City and state officials say the law is a crucial tool for stemming the tide of handguns on city streets, as the number of guns seized by New York City police continues to rise.

"We can't have open carry in a densely populated city like New York," Mayor Eric Adams said last month, while the ruling was still pending. "That concerns me."

The sweeping ruling "dramatically expands the scope of the Second Amendment," Slate Supreme Court writer Mark Joseph Stern tweeted Thursday morning. In it, Justice Thomas states broadly that the Second and 14th amendments "protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home."

A concurring opinion by Justice Brett Kavanaugh may limit the scope of the decision, however, saying that 43 states with modest restrictions on gun licenses can keep their laws in place.

Liberal justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan all dissented from the court's ruling on Thursday.

In his dissent, Breyer wrote that the court should "consider the serious dangers and consequences of gun violence that lead States to regulate firearms," saying New York lawmakers had been responding appropriately to the dangers of guns when they passed the law.

Several local officials were quick to condemn the court's ruling. Gov. Kathy Hochul called it "outrageous," saying in a tweet that she was considering calling a special legislative session to pass new laws in response.

Manhattan state Sen. Brad Hoylman said in a statement that the decision "will cost New Yorkers their lives."

The case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, was brought by the NRA. The city filed a brief last year urging the court to reject the plaintiffs' claims, and the state passed a number of new gun control laws earlier this month that raise the legal purchase age for semiautomatics, mandate micro-stamping on new weapons, and empower health care professionals to apply for extreme-risk protection.

The court has still not issued any decision in another eagerly anticipated case: Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, where it appears poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.