Judge Strikes Down NYC Provisions for Gun Permits

Second Amendment advocates are taking a major win in the case addressing gun permit issuance in New York City.

The city had added provisions in order to secure approval for a gun permit in New York City.

Two of those provisions have been removed, with Judge John. P Cronan having found the provisions were unconstitutional.

Unconstitutional

The two provisions removed by Cronan were the “good moral character” and “good cause” provisions.

Cronan’s ruling made it clear that he thought those provisions gave far too much leeway into interpretation.

He stated, “In sum, having considered Defendants’ proffered historical materials, and applying the standard set in Bruen, the Court determines that the magnitude of discretion afforded to New York City licensing officials … empowering them to evaluate an applicant’s ‘good moral character’ and ‘good cause’ in deciding whether to permit that applicant to exercise his or her Second Amendment rights, is not constitutionally permissible under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.”

He also ruled that the plaintiff, Joseph Spour, “suffered irreparable harm” in being denied his Second Amendment rights.

The decision is stayed until October 26, 2023, “to afford Defendants an opportunity to consider their appellate options and whether they wish to seek a stay pending any appeal.”

This is a very interesting decision because there is a precedent in place that will be tested in this appeal.

If, however, this decision holds up, we can expect a slew of cases to be filed in blue states on similar grounds.

Something tells me that this will get elevated to the Supreme Court and while Second Amendment advocates are celebrating this win, my only hope is that it is not short-lived and later stuck down by the Supreme Court.