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Lawmakers in New York are poised to pass sweeping legislation that would ban concealed weapons from so-called “sensitive locations” like Times Square, public transportation and other places — while also requiring gun permit applicants to provide the state with information about their accounts on social media as well as symbol references.
Debate on the bill began in the state Senate early Friday, one day after the start of a special legislative session called by Gov. Kathy Hochul — a delay attributed to last-minute negotiations on a concept deal touted by the governor earlier in the week.
The special session follows a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week that struck down a century-old state law requiring permit applicants to show “good cause” for wanting to pack heat.
The 6-3 decision gave states leeway to restrict guns from “sensitive” locations while maintaining permitting procedures that are based on objective criteria.
“We’re confident that we’re giving New Yorkers the opportunity again to not only be able to have concealed carry, but to make New Yorkers safe,” state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) told reporters Friday.
Democratic lawmakers have vowed to tighten the gun permit application process after the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down New York’s regulation. William Farrington Gun carriers will be banned from carrying guns in public transport areas such as the subway. ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
Among other information, potential firearm owners will be asked to disclose any social media accounts maintained in the past three years, as well as provide references attesting to their “good moral character.”
Private businesses will be prohibited from firearms unless their owners post visible signs indicating otherwise.
Guns will also be banned from places of worship, public transportation, sports arenas, parks, libraries, government buildings, playgrounds, places of entertainment, protests and businesses that serve alcohol.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to sign the permit application legislation into law immediately. Mike Grohl/Ca State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins vowed to keep “New Yorkers safe.” AP Photo/Hans Pennink
Another provision of the bill expands the newly enacted ban on bulletproof vests to include bulletproof vests like the one used by a racist shooter when he attacked black shoppers at a Buffalo supermarket on May 14.
Hochul is expected to sign the legislation soon after it passes both houses of the Legislature, but Albany Democrats expect plenty of legal challenges from pro-gun groups.
“They didn’t just get on the line. They ran over the Supreme Court’s decision,” said Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case.
Gun permit holders will not be allowed to possess weapons in Times Square. Assembly Speaker Christopher Sadowski Carl Hastie argued that Albany lawmakers still have the authority to issue gun permits. AP Photo/Hans Pennink
“The Supreme Court said you can still have criteria for how [permits] are being issued,” Assembly Speaker Carl Hastie (D-Bronx) told reporters Friday. “And so we believe that’s consistent with what we’re allowed to do.”
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