Gun Rights Group Calls For Less Gun Control

A Second Amendment advocacy group on Tuesday turned to a federal judge asking them to block a New York state law that would ban certain firearms from being carried in certain locations, including hospitals, stadiums, and Manhattan’s Times Square.

This is part of a lawsuit brought forth by the Gun Owners of America against the law which was enacted this summer in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to expand the Second Amendment. In a decision 6-3, the justices said that the Constitution allows for firearms to be carried in public for self-defense. However, they did say that guns should be restricted from going into certain “sensitive locations”, a term which was left undefined.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in late June, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed a law that criminalized people who carried concealed firearms in airports, houses of worship, times square, and other sensitive locations. This brought on many lawsuits.

Gun Owners of America is one of many plaintiffs who are looking to block this New York law before it takes effect on Sep. 1.

On Tuesday during the hearing, the lawyer for the gun rights group told U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby that the Supreme Court intended “sensitive locations” to only include a small list of places, including government buildings and schools. Not places like Time Square.

James Thompson, a lawyer with the New York State Attorney General’s Office, however, argued that New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act has its roots in American history, noting the case of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen which showed that guns should not be used in certain vulnerable areas.