A district court judge issued a temporary injunction Monday blocking New York from requiring concealed carry license applicants from handing over their social media handles to have their accounts scoured.
The temporary injunction also bars NY from requiring concealed license applicants reveal names and information about every one with whom they live.
The case was brought by six private citizens, all of whom are members of Gun Owners of America. They were seeking a preliminary injunction against the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA), which NY Democrats passed just weeks after the June 23, 2022, Supreme Court of the Unites States’ decision striking down the state’s proper cause requirement.
The text of the plaintiffs’ suit makes clear the gun controls :
On July 1, 2022, New York State passed the CCIA, which generally replaced the “proper cause” standard with (1) a definition of the “good moral character” that is required to complete the license application or renewal process, (2) the requirement that the applicant provide a list of current and past social-media accounts, the names and contact information of family members, cohabitants, and at least four character
references, and “such other information required by the licensing officer.”
On November 7, 2022, Judge Suddaby issued a decision which “preliminarily enjoined” Defendants from enforcing numerous aspects of the CCIA.
The preliminary injunction prevents enforcement of:
(a) The provision requiring “good moral character”;
(b) The provision requiring the “names and contact information for the applicant’s current spouse, or domestic partner, any other adults residing in the applicant’s home, including any adult children of the applicant, and whether or not there are minors residing, full time or part time, in the applicant’s home”;
(c) The provision requiring “a list of former and current social media accounts of the applicant from the past three years.”
Defendants requested a “limitation in the scope of [the] preliminary injunction” while they file an appeal and Judge Suddaby denied their request.
The case is Antonyuk v. Hochul, No. 122-cv-00986 in the United States District Court Northern District of New York.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.