Federal Court Allows NY New Gun Law to Stand.. For Now

A federal appeals court is going to allow New York to at least for now continue enforcing the controversial revised gun law that was put into place in September after the Supreme Court threw out the state’s more than 100-year-old conceal-carry regulations. 

The decision from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes six days after a federal district judge in Syracuse declared several sections of the law, restricting where guns can be carried and requiring submission of information concerning social media, unconstitutional. The ruling was to remove those objectionable of the new law. 

The state promptly sought a stay and appealed the order.  

The October 12 decision from the Appeals court puts a hold on U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby's order until a decision can be made on the state's appeal motion. 

Suddaby, on October 6, put a hold on several of the state’s new licensing rules for carrying handguns in public, that was to go into effect days later to give the state the chance to file its appeal. 

New York State Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement on the heels of the Appeals Court ruling saying she was pleased the law would stay intact. 

In the statement released October 12, the Democrat said: "My office will continue our efforts to protect the safety of everyday New Yorkers and defend our common-sense gun laws.”  

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Fellow Democrat, Governor Kathy Hochul also praised the ruling, repeating her vows to stand behind the efforts of the Attorney General to keep the gun regulations intact. 

Democratic lawmakers in New York rewrote the state’s handgun laws this summer after a Supreme Court ruling invalidated New York’s old system for granting permits to carry handguns outside the home. The high court struck down the state’s longstanding requirement that people demonstrate an unusual threat to their safety to qualify for such a license.