The second amendment is an extremely important freedom in our country. It gives every American citizen the right to protect themselves from harm and to protect their communities. New York state is trying to take away that freedom and one group is pushing back
Gun Owner groups are pushing back against the New York government’s attempt to take away their gun rights.
According to Just The News. Gun Owners of America asked a federal judge on Tuesday to block a New York state law that forbids concealed carry permit holders from carrying firearms at “sensitive” locations.
In June, the US Supreme Court struck down a New York law that required concealed carry permit applicants to demonstrate a need to carry a firearm. Here is Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, reacting to that decision.
As a result, New York passed a series of restrictions regarding concealed carry in the state, prohibiting firearms from being carried in government offices, healthcare facilities, churches, libraries, schools, public transportation, restaurants, Times Square, and almost any other public location on an exhaustive list of “sensitive locations.”
According to The Hill, lawyers for GOA argued that the Supreme Court intended the “sensitive location” exception to apply only to a “narrow group of places” and that the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) defined such in a broad way.. Attorney Stephen Stamboulieh argued, “It could be that Times Square is sensitive at certain times. But not all the time,” .
The GOA sued the CCIA in July, charging it with “several blatantly unconstitutional new infringements of the enumerated right to keep and bear arms.”
At the time, GOA board member Sam Paredes said, “We are confident that we will pretty much overturn everything they did in this legislative package because they were clearly in violation of the direct ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen,”
He further called the bill “an angry, vicious response to the Supreme Court ruling.”
Kathy Hochul not only tried to restrict concealed carry in public places, but also wanted those with a license to reveal their social media pages.
According to Bloomberg. The new law was signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul eight days after the Bruen decision. It requires, among other things, that applicants for carry licenses and renewals complete firearms training, meet with a licensing officer, provide household information, including the presence of minors, and provide four character references, among other things.
The law also requires applicants to submit a list of their social media accounts from the past three years “to confirm the information regarding the applicant’s character and conduct.”
There are several constitutional questions raised by the social media disclosure requirement: Does the forced disclosure of an anonymous social media account violate the First Amendment? Is social media review a chilling factor for the exercise of protected speech? The examination of social media accounts of gun license applicants burdens the right to bear arms in a way prohibited by Bruen?
These questions and more still need to be answered but it shows how far Democrats will go to restrict our second amendment rights. Our right to bear arms is a sacred right and must be constantly fought for in order to protect it. Groups like the Gun Owners of America are at the forefront of that fight and should make all Americans proud. Keep up the good work!
