In a landmark decision earlier this year, the Supreme Court threw out New York state’s requirement that citizens show a “proper cause” before they could be issued a concealed handgun permit.
The state legislature responded by passing a new permitting law that some critics complain is even more restrictive. However, a federal judge just blocked one of its key provisions.
State barred from banning weapons on private property
According to Breitbart, United States District Court Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. issued a temporary injunction against a portion of the law that deals with private property.
Specifically, Sinatra addressed the law’s ban requirement that owners of private property must affirmatively welcome the presence of guns before weapons can be carried on their premises.
The judge stressed that although property owners are free to exclude armed individuals if they so choose, the state is barred from making that decision for them.
Known as Christian v. Nigrelli, the case was brought by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Firearms Policy Coalition on behalf of New York resident Brett Christian. Alan Gottlieb serves as the Second Amendment Foundation’s executive director, and he welcomed Sinatra’s decision.
“New York’s efforts to dance around the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision have become a painful exercise in legal acrobatics, which it seems obvious the courts can see through,” Breitbart quoted Gottlieb as saying.
“This case illustrates the ridiculous lengths to which lawmakers in Albany have tried to go in their efforts to get around the letter and spirit of the high court ruling,” he added.
Ban on carrying in houses of worship also blocked
Breitbart noted that Sinatra issued an earlier injunction last month which prevented the state from enforcing its new ban on carrying weapons in houses of worship.
Breitbart quoted his opinion as stating that such a ban is “inconsistent with the Nation’s historical traditions, impermissibly infringing on the right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense.
This decision came just weeks after U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby struck down a requirement that carry permit applicants submit their social media history.
What’s more, Suddaby also rejected the law’s demand that applicants demonstrate “good moral character” before receiving a permit.