The Supreme Court of the United States has been on a roll in recent weeks, ruling several times to protect America’s Constitutional freedoms.
The decisions have sent radical leftists into a craze and Democrat politicians scrambling for workarounds.
Now, one unelected Democrat in this deep blue state is thumbing her nose at voters and tried pulling an end-run around a recent right-affirming Supreme Court ruling.
Technically legal, but seldom granted
To the surprise of many, concealed carry of firearms was “permissible” in New York State.
However, the gun-grabbing blue state made it as difficult as possible to obtain a conceal carry permit.
When an applicant was filling out the form, they were asked to prove “proper cause,” or a “special need,” for the permit.
And if the applicant put, “Second Amendment,” or even, “self-defense,” they would be declined by their local Sheriff.
However, the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association sued the state over the rule – and the case made it all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States.
“Special need” not needed
On June 23, 2022, in a 6-3 ruling, the High Court struck down the Empire State law requiring applicants for a license to carry a gun outside of their homes to have a “proper cause” to do so.
The court rightly interpreted the law violated the Second Amendment.
The ruling was championed as a major victory for gun rights advocates.
However, top Democrats in the deep blue state immediately condemned the decision and warned it will imperil public safety.
In fact, unelected Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced they would work together to find a “workaround” to the ruling.
And they have done just that – with a new law intended to pull an end-run around the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision.
About one week after the ruling, Gov. Hochul has now signed a bill all-but outlawing conceal carry in New York – flying in the face of the high court.
Heading back to the Supreme Court?
Following a special session of the legislature, the new law among other things, required conceal carry applicants to complete 16 hours of in-person live curriculum and two hours of a live-fire range training course.
They also have an endless supply of forms to fill out, including providing details of all other individuals living with the applicant.
From there, the conceal carry seeker must provide the licensing officer with four-character references and perhaps most disturbingly, “a list of former and current social media accounts of the applicant from the past three years.”
Given the recent high court ruling, this new law will likely be challenged and find itself back in front of the Supreme Court Justices.
The training course requirements have no cap on how much the training will cost – nor are there any caps on the costs of filing for the permit.
This could violate not only the Second Amendment, but also the equal protections clause, by pricing out poor residents from exercising their Constitutional right.
Furthermore, the provision about providing social media accounts will likely be seen as a First Amendment violation, censoring, or at least chilling free speech by government order.
According to the statute, the licensing officers needs the character references and social media account information to determine if a candidate has “good moral character,” which is defined as meaning “having the essential character, temperament and judgment necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only in a manner that does not endanger oneself or others.”
The Empire Gun-Free Zone State
But the new law doesn’t stop there.
It also designated nearly all public areas as “sensitive locations,” and calls for felony charges for anyone who carries a firearm into one of these supposed sensitive locations.
Because we’ve seen how effective gun-free zones have been in stopping mass shootings.
Patriot Political will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
