ALBANY, NY — A week after the Supreme Court passed a law restricting the distribution of concealed pistols in New York, Democratic state leaders were expected to respond Thursday with new measures that would ban people from carrying firearms in many public institutions that be considered ‘sensitive’. place.”
The ban would apply to places such as colleges, hospitals, subways, parks and stadiums. It would also apply to any private property, such as a bar, restaurant, or home, unless the property owner expressly permits weapons, which he can do by putting up a sign on his property.
The expected legislation was seen as a strong response to last week’s Supreme Court decision, and may be an early test of how far a state can go to limit the proliferation of handguns without violating the Supreme Court ruling.
By a vote of 6 to 3, the Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a broad right to carry guns outside their homes, declaring that a century-old New York law was unconstitutional because of how it restricted those who could obtain carrying licenses.
Fearing the decision would lead to a dangerous proliferation of weapons amid an existing spike in gun violence, Governor Kathy Hochul had ordered the Democrat-led legislature to meet Thursday for an emergency hearing in Albany to review the state’s gun laws. to sharpen.
Lawmakers also moved forward with a broad equality measure that would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution, following the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
The move, which would require an amendment to the state constitution, would put New York at the forefront of legal efforts to codify abortion rights, and ensure that it cannot be simply revoked by a future legislature.
Still, amending a state constitution is a years-long process in New York, requiring approval by two separately elected legislators and then voter approval in a referendum.
Legislators seemed to be moving steadily on gun laws, even though it was expected, in classic Albany fashion, that the actual legislative language would not become public until shortly before the vote.
For example, lawmakers are considering adding new requirements for New Yorkers to obtain a concealed carry permit, including 16 hours of gun-handling training, two hours of shooting range training, a personal interview and a written exam, according to internal legislative memos that were obtained by DailyExpertNews.
Although Ms Hochul said she had reached an agreement with her Democratic colleagues in the legislature on the outline of the bill, lawmakers were still finalizing the details and precise language on Thursday afternoon, with a vote to be held later in the day. evening is expected.
Legislative leaders and the governor appeared to have agreed on a list of locations where guns would be banned: health care facilities, including nursing homes and domestic violence shelters; places of worship; colleges and universities; places where children gather, such as nurseries, playgrounds, parks and zoos; public transport; places where alcohol or cannabis is consumed; and theatres, arenas, concerts, casinos and other entertainment venues.
Under the contemplated plan, carrying a weapon in a restricted area would amount to a crime punishable by up to four years in prison.
“I want to make sure we’ve done everything we can to protect the citizens of this state,” Ms Hochul said at a news conference on Wednesday, a day after winning the Democratic primary for governor.
Ms Hochul said the comprehensive list of places where guns would be banned was drawn up to reassure New Yorkers “that when they go there to gather, work, places of worship, polling stations and larger gathering areas, they have nothing to worry about.” about someone standing next to them with a weapon.”
The legislation is expected to sail through the state’s Senate and Assembly, where Democrats have a supermajority majority, amid token opposition from Republicans, some of whom described the process by which the Democrats pushed the legislation as rushed and secretive.
Long Island Representative Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee for governor who has made public safety a cornerstone of his campaign, immediately spoke out against creating gun-free zones, saying it would make the state “less safe.”
“If you are going to identify a location, and you are going to tell the criminal that there are no law-abiding New Yorkers in that location and will safely carry a firearm in defense, you are endangering the safety of other people in that location. said Mr. Zeldin at a press conference in Buffalo on Thursday.
Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who specializes in gun policy and constitutional law, said New York had taken an aggressive approach to defining sensitive places, as expected, but the training requirements had not been met. were as taxing as some had expected.
As to whether the new law would be passed by the Supreme Court, Professor Winkler said it was difficult to know how few guidelines the Court had issued.
“The only certainty is that there will be a lawsuit,” he said. “Whatever New York does, gun lawyers will sue.”
The Supreme Court ruling, written by Judge Clarence Thomas, upheld Americans’ rights to publicly bear guns and overturned the process used by six states, including New York, California and Massachusetts, to approve covert-carrying licenses.
Under the old New York statute, people applying for a concealed firearms license were required to demonstrate that they had “good reason” to be licensed, in addition to a number of other criteria: be at least 21 years old, no felony, or serious offenses and have a ‘good moral character’.
If an applicant meets those criteria, officials could grant a permit if they felt the applicant had an increased need for self-protection. The court challenged the state’s use of discretion in these cases, but said its decision would not affect 43 other states that issue carrying licenses, as long as applicants meet a certain set of criteria.
The Supreme Court ruling was clear in saying that officials could designate certain “sensitive places” as off limits for people who carry concealed weapons, as long as those places were comparable to other areas with long-standing gun bans, such as schools, government buildings or polling stations. But it offered little additional clue as to what kinds of places might be considered sensitive, though Judge Thomas did note that it would be inappropriate to declare the entire island of Manhattan off-limits.
Lawmakers debated on Thursday whether to ban guns at protests or in places where people gather to express their right to freedom of expression.
The legislation would also expand the state’s so-called safe-storage laws, passed in 2019, that require weapons to be safely stored in a home if anyone under the age of 16 lives there. The legislation in question would raise the age to 18 years. And it would prohibit gun owners from leaving their gun in a car unless it’s stored in a lockbox, according to the memos.
State senator Luis Sepúlveda, a Democrat from the Bronx, said lawmakers planned to follow scant Supreme Court guidelines by enacting regulations, such as mandatory training, that were not discretionary, to “survive the constitutional rally.”
The governor acknowledged on Wednesday that the legislation would nevertheless prevent weapons from coming from most public places.
When asked by reporters what areas there would be for permit holders to legally carry a firearm, Ms Hochul said, “Probably several blocks.”
“We know we need to make sure this is constitutional. We don’t want to go back to court,” Ms. Hochul said, adding, “I’m going all the way to the line, not across the line.”
Despite broad consensus between both houses about the intent of the legislation, several proposals were still in flux following concerns from lawmakers.
Among them was a proposal that would disqualify a license applicant for alcohol abuse, and require recovering alcoholics to submit an affidavit from a licensed counselor stating that they have not had a drink in at least three years. Likewise, lawmakers debated legally prohibiting people from carrying guns outside their homes when under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Nicholas Fandos and Jonah E. Bromwich reporting contributed.
