After SCOTUS knocked down their last gun law, which required citizens to show "proper cause" to carry a gun, New York held an emergency session last week in response and passed another (likely unconstitutional) piece of gun-control legislation.
The bill was signed immediately by acting Governor Kathy Hochul during the emergency session, as she helped the legislature craft the law.
In addition to the several new requirements for gun licenses reported – including three years of social media history, four character references, names and contact information of everyone living in your house, certification in gun safety, and "such other information required by the licensing officer that is reasonably necessary" – the law also makes "No concealed guns allowed" the default position of all business, grocery stores, churches, public places, etc.
This requires those locations to place a sign demonstrating that they are willing to have concealed weapons on their property.
And perhaps the biggest issue of all is that it also makes private property a gun free zone, so theoretically, you can't carry your gun around your house unless you've correctly indicated it's permissible. Otherwise, the law requires you to keep it properly locked away in a vault of some sort.
Guns are also prohibited in the following locations:
- Government buildings
- Healthcare buildings
- Libraries, playgrounds, parks, and zoos
- Places where children may be
- Places where disabled people may be
- Places where addicted people may be
- Places where mentally ill people may be
- Places where homeless or victims of domestic violence may be
- Public housing
- Schools, including private-residential, AKA homeschools
- Public transportation
- Places where alcohol may be
- Places of entertainment
- Polling places
- Any public sidewalk or public area
- Any [mostly] peaceful protests
- Times Square
The law also bans any sort of body armor for citizens, will now require background checks to purchase ammunition, and creates a brand-new Bureau of Background Checks because nothing gums up the works like more bureaucracy.
On her website, Governor Hochul called the Supreme Court's decision "reckless" and says this new legislation was crafted to skirt their ruling, and included the following quotes from the legislators:
New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, "In response to the Supreme Court's decision implying that guns are more important than lives in this country, we are passing legislation to ensure that New York State has safe and responsible gun laws. States are the last line of defense, which is why we are stepping up to protect New York from being easily flooded with concealed weapons and keeping firearms out of the wrong hands.
New York Speaker Carl Heastie said, "In the wake of the Supreme Court's dismantling our more than 100-year-old sensible concealed carry law, the Assembly Majority worked tirelessly alongside our Senate colleagues and the governor to ensure that our state has the strongest gun laws possible. We will not let this ruling make our streets less safe. Here in New York, the right to feel safe in public spaces is not secondary to unfettered access to firearms. And when this right-wing conservative court inevitably continues its assault on our democracy, we will remain as committed as ever to protecting the rights of every New Yorker."
In summary, New York has all but said if you're an ordinary citizen, you need to be as vulnerable as possible, and only criminals and the government are allowed to have firearms of any sort.
Of course in New York, those two classes of people may be the same thing.
Good luck, New Yorkers, you all are going to need it.
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