NYSRPA v. NYC on SCOTUS docket demonstrates renewed interest in judicial review of NY gun control

JANUARY 22, 2019 – BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to jump back into the national debate over gun rights after nearly a decade on the sidelines. The request for review came from the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYSRPA) and a group of gun owners who live in the city.

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. City of New York, New York challenges the city’s ban on transferring even licensed, unloaded guns anywhere outside the city limits – including to a weekend home or shooting range for target practice – restrictions NYSRPA describes as “draconian.” After the lower courts rejected their challenge and upheld the restrictions, NYSRPA and gun owners went to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court’s calendar for April was already full before last week’s conference, so the NYSRPA v. NYC case likely won’t be argued until the fall. The justices’ eventual ruling in the case could stick to the relatively narrow question of whether the city’s law is constitutional, or it might shed light on a broader and more consequential question: whether the right to have a gun extends outside the home. Either way, the court’s opinion in the case probably won’t come until the spring of 2020.

“The fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the NYSRPA case clearly demonstrates that the conservative wing of the Court is now interested in addressing the numerous constitutional issues created by the draconian gun control regimes concocted by New York City legislators, and state government as a whole,” 2AWNY Civil Rights Advocate Steve Felano said. “Now that Justice Kennedy’s swing vote has been replaced by Justice Kavanaugh’s solidly pro-Second Amendment vote, the Court’s conservative justices are more comfortable opening the floodgates to Second Amendment legal battles ripe for review. Even more encouraging is the fact that the NYSRPA case was successful in making it beyond the Second Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, long considered the place where Second Amendment cases go to die. This is a very encouraging development for the two highly persuasive cases coming out of Western New York challenging the constitutionality of the SAFE Act and New York State’s arbitrary pistol permit requirement. What happened today demonstrates that the aforementioned cases are highly viable, and stand a good chance of making it to the Supreme Court for review. What the Court has done here illustrates that 2019 marks the beginning of a Second Amendment civil rights renaissance, and the beginning of the end of unconstitutional gun control edicts across New York State and beyond.”

Following are the 2019 legal challenges to the SAFE Act and the New York State pistol permitting requirement that are bolstered by the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the NYSRPA v. NYC case:

• Libertarian Party of Erie County v. Cuomo– This case, expected to be argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals on February 20^th, 2019 (one step away from U.S. Supreme Court review), seeks to nullify New York State’s pistol permit requirement.

• The People of the State of New York v. Benjamin Wassell – This case, expected to be argued in New York State Supreme Court on February 28^th, 2019, seeks to reverse a SAFE Act conviction erroneously applied to a Western New York resident.

To learn more about any of the above, please contact Steve Felano at (518) 852-1863 or sfelano@2AWNY.com.

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2AWNY is a force multiplier for the numerous Second Amendment civil rights advocacy enterprises forming the backbone of Western New York’s vibrant gun culture. We act as a 2A news and information distribution, policy analysis, and organizational driver for the many interest groups seeking to defend and expand Second Amendment civil rights throughout the region. 2AWNY is dedicated to assisting in the organization, promotion, and funding of legal challenges to the unconstitutional New York State gun control regime. We seek to make Western New York the epicenter of New York State’s Second Amendment civil rights renaissance. Learn more at WWW.2AWNY.COM.