Hochul’s Gun Restrictions Upheld by Federal Appeals Court

A federal appeals court has upheld major provisions of New York’s firearm law that ban guns in heavily populated and “sensitive” areas, including Times Square, the subway system, and commuter trains.

The ruling, issued Friday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, affirms a 2023 lower court decision that kept the law in place despite a challenge from gun rights advocates who argued the measure infringes on Second Amendment protections.

In a 50-page opinion, the three-judge panel concluded that the contested parts of New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act align with the nation’s long-standing traditions of regulating firearms in certain public spaces. The decision said the plaintiffs were “unlikely to succeed” on the merits of their constitutional arguments.

“There is perhaps no public place more quintessentially crowded than Times Square,” the court wrote. “In short, Times Square is our modern-day, electrified, supersized equivalent of fairs, markets, and town squares of old. We therefore need not stretch the analogy far,’ to conclude that [the law] is entirely consistent with our historical tradition of regulating firearms in quintessentially crowded places.”

The restrictions stem from legislation signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in July 2022. That law tightened firearm licensing rules, expanded background check requirements, and classified private property as “restricted” space where carrying guns is prohibited unless owners post explicit permission. Hochul pushed the measure through after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York’s longstanding requirement that concealed carry applicants demonstrate “proper cause” for obtaining a license in the 2022 N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen ruling.

Critics of the new framework argued that the concealed carry revisions were an attempt to undermine the Bruen decision. Although the Supreme Court declined to take up the fresh challenge, litigation proceeded in federal courts across New York.

The 2nd Circuit had previously upheld other provisions of Hochul’s law, such as requiring applicants to show “good moral character” and giving private property owners authority to post signs barring firearms.

Gun Owners of America, one of the groups behind the lawsuit, denounced the decision. The group’s vice president Erich Pratt said the ruling was a “slap in the face” to gun owners and contradicted the Supreme Court’s guidance in Bruen. “We will continue the fight against Gov. Hochul and anti-gun legislators in Albany until New Yorkers can finally carry for self-defense without infringement,” Pratt said.

Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Letitia James praised the outcome, saying the ruling supports measures designed to keep communities safe.

“New Yorkers deserve to feel safe on public transportation and everywhere in our state,” James said in a statement. “Common-sense gun laws save lives, keep guns out of sensitive community spaces, and help address the gun violence crisis. New York has some of the strongest common-sense gun laws in the nation, and my office will continue to defend them and protect New Yorkers.”

Hochul’s Gun Restrictions Upheld by Federal Appeals Court