N.Y. lawmakers to address SCOTUS concealed carry ruling next week

ALBANY — State lawmakers will return to work next week to address the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down a New York law limiting the carrying of concealed firearms, Gov. Hochul announced Friday.

The governor signed an order mandating a special legislative session in response to the court’s 6-3 decision doing away with the century-old statute.

“The Supreme Court’s reckless and reprehensible decision to strike down New York’s century-old concealed carry law puts lives at risk here in New York,” Hochul said in a statement. “My number one priority as governor will always be to keep New Yorkers safe.”

The Supreme Court ruled that requiring residents seeking a license to carry a gun outside the home to demonstrate a “proper cause” was unconstitutional.

New York’s strict concealed-carry law has been on the books since 1913. Essentially, for a gun owner to carry a concealed handgun in public they had to demonstrate a specific need for self-defense when applying for a license.

The governor and legislative leaders have been “working around the clock” since the decision came down to craft new legislation in response, according to Hochul.

On Thursday, the governor said that the state may require applicants undergo firearms training to obtain a concealed-carry permit and New York may try to ban guns at “sensitive” locations such schools, churches and even the subway.

Additionally on Friday, the governor said she is looking at legislation that would prohibit New Yorkers from carrying weapons in businesses unless an establishment proactively allows it.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) said earlier Friday she anticipated being called back.

“New York will not stand idly by,” Stewart-Cousins told WNYC. “We are all prepared to go back, to take a look… at what we can do to adhere to the Supreme Court decision but still make sure that we have the maximum protection for New Yorkers who frankly don’t want to live in fear of every other person carrying a gun on the subway or in a grocery store.”

Lawmakers ended the normal six-month legislative session earlier this month with a package of gun bills written in to a pair of horrific mass shootings including banning body armor and raising the age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21.

Last month, an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas, days after 10 people were shot to death at a supermarket in Buffalo.