Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order Against New York’s New Gun Controls

On Thursday U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby issued a temporary restraining order against portions of New York’s newest gun controls, including the requirement that concealed carry permit applicants have their social media scoured.

The decision centered on the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA), which New York Democrats passed and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed in response to the Supreme Court of the United States’ NYSRPA v. Bruen ruling (2022).

The Associated Press noted that the CCIA replaced proper cause with a requirement that concealed permit applicants show they possess “the essential character, temperament and judgement necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only in a manner that does not endanger oneself and others.”

Breitbart News reported that CCIA also included a requirement that the state scour social media accounts of would-be concealed carriers, among other things.

Judge Suddaby issued a temporary restraining order against the character test, ruling against:

. . . the provisions contained in Section 1 of the CCIA requiring “good moral character” EXCEPT to the extent it is construed to mean that a license shall be issued or renewed except for an applicant who has been found, by a preponderance of the evidence based on his or her conduct, to not have “good moral character,” which is defined as “having the essential character, temperament and judgment necessary . . . to use [the weapon entrusted to the applicant] only in a manner that does not endanger oneself or others, other than in self-defense.

His temporary restraining order also halts the requirement that a concealed carry permit holder “meet in person with the licensing officer for an interview” and the requirement that applicants hand over “a list of former and current social media accounts of the applicant from the past three years.”

Numerous other aspects of the CCIA were temporarily restrained as well.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) released a statement in response to Judge Suddaby’s ruling:

Since the beginning, I have stood up against Hochul’s shameful attempt to shred our Constitution when she doubled down on her unconstitutional gun ban even after the United States Supreme Court struck it down. Her direct attack on our Upstate Values has wrongfully declared historical reenactors and lawful gun owners in the Adirondack Park as felons and ended gun show fundraisers for first responders in my district. This must come to an end now. Just as I proudly supported New Yorkers’ successful challenge to New York’s concealed carry ban in the Supreme Court, I am committed to ensuring Corrupt Kathy Hochul’s unconstitutional law is struck down in the Supreme Court. I will continue to bring the concerns of patriots in Upstate New York and the North Country to the highest levels, defend hardworking families, and fight for our Constitutional right to bear arms.

The case is Antonyuk v. Hochul, No. 1:22-CV-0986 in U.S. District Court for the 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.