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New York to restrict gun carrying after Supreme Court ruling

Published:Tuesday | August 30, 2022 | 3:41 PM
A customer browses the guns on display at SP firearms, June 23, 2022, in Hempstead, New York. A sweeping new gun law in New York that would require applicants to hand over social media information before they could carry a gun in public while declaring bucolic parks, bustling Times Square and a long list of other places off limits for firearms is scheduled to take effect on Thursday, September 1, 2022, amid legal battles and lingering confusion. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Amid the bright lights and electronic billboards across New York's Times Square, city authorities are posting new signs proclaiming the bustling crossroads a “Gun Free Zone.”

The sprawling Manhattan tourist attraction is one of scores of “sensitive” places — including parks, churches and theatres — that will be off limits for guns under a sweeping new state law going into effect Thursday.

The measure, passed after a US Supreme Court decision in June expanded gun rights, also sets stringent standards for issuing concealed carry permits.

New York is among a half-dozen states that had key provisions of its gun laws invalidated by the high court because of a requirement for applicants to prove they had “proper cause” for a permit.

Governor Kathy Hochul said Friday that she and her fellow Democrats in the state Legislature took action the next week because the ruling “destroyed the ability for a governor to be able to protect her citizens from people who carry concealed weapons anywhere they choose.”

The quickly adopted law, however, has led to confusion and court challenges from gun owners who say it improperly limits their constitutional rights.

Under the law, applicants for a concealed carry permit will have to complete 16 hours of classroom training and two hours of live-fire exercises.

Ordinary citizens would be prohibited from bringing guns to schools, churches, subways, theatres and amusement parks — among other places deemed “sensitive” by authorities.

Applicants also will have to provide a list of social media accounts for the past three years as part of a “character and conduct” review. The requirement was added because shooters have sometimes dropped hints of violence online before they opened fire on people.

Sheriffs in some upstate counties said the additional work for their investigators could add to existing backlogs in processing applications.

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