Federal Appeals Court Allows Many N.Y. Gun Restrictions

A federal appeals court upheld large portions of an expansive New York gun law Thursday, saying the state can ban people from carrying weapons in "sensitive locations" such as schools, parks, theaters, and bars.

In a 3-0 decision, a panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan also rejected parts of the 2022 law, including a ban on guns in private locations that are generally open to the public, such as gas stations and supermarkets.

The panel reached the same conclusions as it had in December, after the U.S. Supreme Court in a different case clarified the constitutional protections afforded to gun owners.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the law on July 1, 2022, one week after the Supreme Court struck down a different, more than century-old state law on carrying guns outside the home.

That decision, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v Bruen, was a landmark that expanded Americans' 2nd Amendment rights to arm themselves in public, and required courts to look for historical analogs to justify new gun restrictions.

But in June, the Supreme Court limited that decision by upholding a federal ban on gun ownership by people subject to restraining orders for domestic violence.

The Supreme Court then told the 2nd Circuit to take a fresh look at the 2022 New York law in light of that decision, U.S. v. Rahimi.

In Thursday's decision, the appeals court panel said it reached the same conclusions as before.