On July 2, 2024, the United States Supreme Court vacated the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in a challenge directed against New York’s  “Concealed Carry Improvement Act.” Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) brought forward this challenge.  

GOA and GOF submitted a petition for certiorari in February 2024, following the Second Circuit Court’s failure to properly implement Supreme Court precedent set by New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen and provide aid from the statute’s several unconstitutional provisions, which includes a New York’s “good moral character” mandate to obtain a concealed carry permit. 

GOA would then challenge the gun grab, which Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York General Assembly immediately passed in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision in 2022. 

This new law is apparently more draconian and stringent than the one deemed unconstitutional in the Bruen decision. In a previous instance, GOA obtained a preliminary injunction in federal district court blocking several parts of the law, but it was largely scrapped by the Second Circuit. 

According to a GOA email, the law’s provisions that were still in effect mandated concealed carry license applicants to: 

• Prove one’s “good moral character” 

• Have in person interviews with law enforcement 

• Provide four “character references” 

• Undergo 18 hours of combined training, a tremendous increase from the existing 4-hour requirement 

Erich Pratt, the Senior Vice President of GOA, issued the following statement:

“New York’s anti-gun politicians were quick to double down after the Bruen decision, but today they’ve been smacked down again. With the High Court making clear the Second Circuit got it wrong and by remanding the case back to the lower court, the High Court is forcing New York’s politicians to eat a huge plate of humble pie. We look forward to continuing the fight for New Yorkers’ right to carry – without government pre-requisites.” 

New York is a state where gun rights go to die. According to Guns & Ammo magazine’s best states for gun owner rankings, the Empire State found itself in dead last, 51st place. At this point, only nullification and litigation in the federal court system can make New York hospital for gun rights.