New York’s leaders pledged on Thursday to pass legislation restricting the carrying of handguns as soon as possible and prompted the US Supreme Court to announce the cancellation of a measure earlier in a decision would affect five other states and tens of millions of Americans.
Governor Kathy Hochul said she would convene a special legislative session as soon as July and put forward proposals that could allow the state to maintain some of the nation’s most restrictive gun laws. Democratic leaders in the Legislature promised to work with the governor.
Hochul was apparently furious during a press conference in Manhattan, where she was preparing to sign a school safety measure for a teenager killed in the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. She called the Supreme Court’s decision “shocking, absolutely shocking” and said it would make New Yorkers less safe.
“We are dealing with a major gun violence crisis. “We don’t need to add fuel to this fire.”
Her comments came minutes after the announcement of the Supreme Court’s decision, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, declaring unconstitutional, a centuries-old law that allows officials in New York has full authority to decide who can carry weapons. California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey, which have similar laws, will also be affected by the decision.
Justice Thomas made it clear that any law restricting gun carry in general in New York City would not be admissible by the courts.
“Simply put,” he wrote, “there is no historical basis for New York to effectively claim Manhattan Island as a ‘sensitive site’ simply because it is crowded and protected by the Department of Justice. New York City Police.”
The ruling does not affect states whose laws “will be enacted”. Those measures give local officials little power to decide who can carry guns, but can still place significant restrictions on applicants. The difference, highlighted in a concurrence opinion by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, could allow states with widely supported restrictions to redraw the new rules.
In New York, Ms. Hochul convened a meeting with the mayors of New York’s six largest cities to discuss potential legislation. She said leaders are introducing changes to the laws governing permitting, potentially requiring additional training. They also plan to identify so-called sensitive locations where guns are not allowed. Ms. Hochul declined to expand the possible locations while lawmakers debated, but said she believes the subways should be among them.
Paige Graves, the agency’s general counsel, said in a statement the state’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is drafting rules to keep weapons off subways, trains and buses.
Ms. Hochul added that she hopes to establish a system where handguns will be banned in private businesses, unless the owners officially authorize them.
Joseph Blocher, a Second Amendment expert at Duke University Law School in North Carolina, says some of those proposals could meet the specifications the Supreme Court laid out in the ruling. its own, but warns that conundrums are bound to arise.
For example, officials could open fire within 100 feet of a school or government building, he explained, and such buffer zones could send a significant portion of the city off-limits. But he says whether those kinds of restrictions get past the courts is an open question.
New York’s law is not yet out of the books. Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, said the case has now been moved back to a lower court – the US Court of Appeals for Second Circuit – which is expected to send it to the Court of Appeals in turn. federal district in New York, said Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California. Los Angeles, who specializes in constitutional law and gun policy.
Mr. Winkler said that the court is likely to give New York an extension, rather than lowering the law immediately.
“We’ve seen this happen in the past, where the courts have given legislators some time to pass legislation,” he said. In this case, he added, the alternative would be “people carrying guns on the streets of New York.”
New York officials hastily explained that the decision would not take effect immediately.
“Nothing has changed today,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference at City Hall. He called the ruling “appalling” and said it could undermine efforts to increase safety. Gun trade from other states, largely in the so-called I-95 Iron Pipeline, may no longer be necessary, he said.
“The Iron Pipeline will become Van Wyck,” the mayor said, referring to the highway that runs through Queens. “The guns will be purchased here.”
The city’s police commissioner, Keechant Sewell, warned that as long as the current law remains on the books, “If you illegally carry a firearm in New York City, you will be arrested.”
New York has a series of regulations that are not affected by the court’s decision. The SAFETY Act, passed in 2013, bans assault-style weapons with military features, requiring background checks on nearly all sales and transportation of ammunition and firearms hand, and prohibits those convicted of certain gun crimes from possessing firearms. The so-called red flag law, enacted in 2019, allows officials to seek orders to remove firearms from people they believe will engage in harmful behavior.
Some New Yorkers celebrated the court’s decision. Republican candidates for governor Lee Zeldin and Andrew Giuliani both welcomed the ruling.
Zeldin, a congressman and arguably the favorite for the nomination, called the decision “a defense of the constitutional rights of law-abiding New Yorkers who have been under attack for too long. “.
And Andrew Chernoff, owner of Coliseum Gun Traders in Uniondale, Long Island, said it was “more than just a pro-gun decision”.
“It has a bigger message – and the bigger message is that you can’t twist and turn the Constitution to your will,” said Mr. Chernoff, who has been in business since 1979.
Several New York City public defenders also backed the ruling, saying the law had previously been used to discriminate against minority clients.
“More than 90% of those prosecuted for unlicensed gun possession in New York City are Black and Brown,” a coalition of public defenders said in a statement. “These are the people affected by New York’s discriminatory gun licensing scheme, which has fueled the criminalization and incarceration of young people of color in New York.”
Their statement called on the Legislature to design gun regulations to address violence without perpetuating discrimination.
But at a press conference across the street from City Hall, members of the legislature Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus said the decision would put voters and their communities at risk.
“In fact, if anyone and everyone could get a permit to have a gun and ride on the subway, in our parks, in our cinemas and concerts, We’re going to be in big trouble.” Senator Robert Jackson.
New York officials have struggled to combat gun crime. From 2019 to 2021, the number of fatal shootings has doubled in New York City. And the overall rate of shootings in 20 other areas, including Albany, Buffalo and Rochester has increased sharply during that time, according to the city and state data.
While criminologists disagree on what is driving the increase in violence, many point to the disruption caused by the pandemic and the easy flow of guns to New York from states with laxer restrictions.
Studies have shown that properly implemented laws are associated with higher rates of violent crime. A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research in 2017, found that such laws were associated with a “higher aggregate violent crime rate” of up to 15%.
Zellnor Myrie, a Democratic senator from Brooklyn who is one of the Legislature’s leading voices on gun violence, said the court’s decision came as he attended his elementary school graduation. across from the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where 10 people are. was shot and dozens injured when a gunman opened fire on the train in April.
“I just think about the kids I just saw graduate who have to live in a city, state or a country where the government chooses guns over their lives,” he said.
Dana Rubinstein, Hurubi Meko and Chelsia Rose Marcius contribution report.
