The Daily Caller reports that a judge appointed by former President Donald Trump just blocked the implementation of a gun control law in New York.
That judge is U.S. District Judge John Sinatra Jr. Sinatra just issued an injunction that will have the effect of stopping the gun control measure from being implemented while its legality continues to be litigated.
Sinatra, in part, relied on the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, in which the court bolstered the Second Amendment by protecting the right to carry firearms in public. It goes to show just how significant the Bruen ruling is.
Background
The particular gun control measure at issue here is a New York law, called the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA), which was passed by the state’s Democrat-led legislature in September.
The law bars firearms from places of worship and other areas that it refers to as “sensitive.”
The law was quickly challenged by several gun rights organizations as well as two clerics. Among the arguments that they made was that the gun control measure deprives them of the ability to protect themselves while at church.
Before arguments can be heard on the merits, the challengers asked Judge Sinatra to issue an injunction stopping the law from going into effect while its legality is being litigated.
Granted
Sinatra has now granted the requested injunction, which extends a temporary restraining order that he put into place last month.
“The nation’s history does not countenance such an incursion into the right to keep and bear arms across all places of worship across the state,” Sinatra said. “The right to self-defense is no less important and no less recognized at these places.”
Sinatra also made it clear that he is being guided, in part, by Bruen.
“The court reiterates that ample Supreme Court precedent addressing the individuals right to keep and bear arms – from Heller and McDonald to its June 2022 decision in Bruen – dictates that New York’s new place of worship restriction is equally unconstitutional,” Sinatra said.
With the injunction in place, litigation regarding the legality of New York’s gun control law will continue. Given Sinatra’s recent ruling, though, it’s hard to imagine him doing anything other than striking the measure down.