The Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a motion by New York’s gun dealers to overturn state-imposed gun laws they said threatened their businesses.
The bills were introduced by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
She acted after the Supreme Court in June overturned a 1913 law in New York that made it very difficult to get a permit for concealed carry.
Under the nearly 110-year rule, New Yorkers—unlike residents in most other states—had to have “proper reason” to carry concealed. The restrictions were so severe that permits were rarely granted, and mostly applied to business owners handling large amounts of cash, celebrities who faced death threats, and retired police officers.
The list of concealed carry license holders in New York City was not public, but a 2011 analysis by The New York Times found that about 4,000 people in the city were licensed.
Paloma Capanna (left), the lead attorney for nine New York gun dealers, said they were disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision upholding statutes enacted by New York Attorney General Letitia James (right).
The Supreme Court in June overturned a New York law that required applicants seeking a concealed carry license to show a “proper reason” for their application. In response, New York Attorney General Letitia James introduced new restrictions. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to their laws
The Supreme Court overturned the status quo in June, declaring that imposing such restrictions on gun ownership violates the Second Amendment.
California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island all have similar laws. The Biden administration had urged judges to comply with New York law.
Dozens of states already allow near-unrestricted carrying of guns in public, but the six Democratic-led states retain a high degree of control over who gets permits.
About a quarter of the US population lives in states expected to be affected by the ruling, the High Court’s first major gun decision in more than a decade.
In response, James introduced a new law banning the carrying of a gun in “sensitive areas” such as stadiums, places of worship, museums, parks and other public places.
It imposes revised records and new safety requirements on retailers, and mandates background checks on all ammunition purchases.
Gun owners complained all the way to the Supreme Court, which dismissed their lawsuit without explanation on Wednesday.
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a request by New York gun dealers to stop state laws on carrying firearms
Paloma Capanna, the lead attorney for the nine New York gun dealers, told Fox News Digital that they were disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision, which she says makes unreasonable demands on business owners.
“We are disappointed that none of the nine judges saw fit to grant the plaintiffs some respite from enforcing the new laws against them,” she said.
“We question New York State’s ability to target arms dealers in the legitimate flow of trade to put them out of business, which the new laws will do.
“So it was really unfortunate to see that we couldn’t get an injunction against those laws.”
Capanna argued that the record-keeping requirement was excessive.
“The list of new mandatory compliances goes so far as to use a turnover of acquisition and disposition records, which New York state attorneys have admitted, to create the first-ever gun ownership registry housed with the New York State Police .” She added.
But James celebrated the decision, describing it as a victory of common sense.
Wednesday’s order comes a week after the Supreme Court rejected a separate bid by gun rights activists to block James’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act.
“For the second time this month, the US Supreme Court has allowed New York’s gun safety laws to remain in effect,” she tweeted.
“We will continue to defend our common sense laws that protect New Yorkers.”
New York Mayor Eric Adams — a former police officer who revealed during the campaign that he, as an ex-officer and public figure, planned to carry a concealed gun in public after taking office — also praised the Supreme Court’s decision .
“The Concealed Carry Improvement Act and state harassment statutes are critical to stemming the rivers feeding the sea of gun violence in our communities,” he said.
“We support @NewYorkStateAG and the state in their ongoing fight to keep New Yorkers safe.”