Liberal 2nd Circuit Ct Upholds NY's Obviously Unconstitutional Law that Prevents Citizens From Carrying Guns for Self Defense on Public Transportation and Bans Guns Merely b/c a Place is Crowded

NY’s new law violates the 2nd Amendment because there is no longstanding historical tradition of regulating peaceable public carry on public transportation, in churches, all government buildings and schools regardless of their nature as required by the new Supreme Court holding. Also, the ban on guns is unconstitutional because the Court explained that merely because a place is crowded does not make it a “sensitive place” worthy of stripping people the right to defend themselves with a handgun.

The Court explained, “When the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an individual’s conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct. The government must then justify its regulation by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Only then may a court conclude that the individual’s conduct falls outside the Second Amendment’s “unqualified command.”

The sensitive places doctrine is an exception to the general right to the peaceable possession and carry of arms. The Court is guided by the history around the time of the creation of the 2nd Amendment to determine whether a gun is valid because the right to carry arms is considered to be a “pre-existing right.” Said history according to the Court and legal scholars is that carrying “common weapons” was an offense only when done in a manner “apt to terrify” people. [MORE] The Court ruled that there must be a “longstanding” history of “laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings.” [MORE]

A three-judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has upheld the “sensitive area” provision of New York State’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA).

The CCIA bans the carrying of firearms in Times Square and on public transportation. Shortly after New York State lost at the Supreme Court in New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the state legislature held an emergency session to pass a response to the historic defeat. Because of Bruen, the Empire State’s “may issue” concealed firearms carry scheme was struck down as unconstitutional. SCOTUS stated that a gun law must be consistent with the text, tradition, and history of the Second Amendment from the founding era. All states had to become “must issue.” The court stated that certain areas could be designated as “sensitive,” such as court and government buildings, but the designation must be used sparingly. It cannot be applied simply because a large number of people gather in a location.

The CCIA did just that and banned firearms in Times Square because of the large number of people gathered there. Many other places were included in the law as “sensitive.” Various lawsuits have emerged, suing New York State over what some have called “thumbing their nose” at the Supreme Court due to the Bruen decision. One of the cases was Frey v. Cheng. The case challenged the CCIA provision that banned the carrying of guns in Times Square and the Subways. [MORE]