The Democrat-run New York Assembly and its far-left governor, Kathy Hochul, responded to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month striking down the state’s law severely restricting concealed carry permits as injurious to the Second Amendment by passing a new law that attacks the First Amendment as well as the Fourth Amendment right to privacy.
According to reports, legislators on Friday approved an overhaul of New York’s gun licensing regulations that added this requirement: All applicants must turn over their social media accounts so regulators can examine three years’ worth of posts to determine if their “character and conduct” is good enough for a license.
“New Yorkers’ constitutional freedoms were just trampled on,” state Republican Chair Nick Langworthy said after both Democrat-majority chambers sent the measure to Hochul, who immediately signed it into law.
New York State New Gun Laws Include, People applying for a gun license will have to turn over a list of their social media accounts for officials to verify their “character & conduct”https://t.co/saFvPvnNQk
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 2, 2022
Critics say the new requirements run afoul not only of the Second Amendment but also the First Amendment’s right to freedom of speech. The law is certain to draw legal challenges that could put New York’s gun restrictions right back in front of the Supreme Court.
In June, a 6-3 SCOTUS majority ruled that New York’s law violated both the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.
The decision, in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen was widely viewed as the widest expansion of gun rights in more than a decade, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Daily Wire added: “The case revolved around a 1911 New York state law that made the right to a concealed carry permit contingent on demonstrating ‘good moral character’ and ‘proper cause.’ In the majority opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that New Yorkers could not be required to show why they must demonstrate a need to exercise a Constitutional right.”
“We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officers some special need,” Thomas wrote.
The new gun law in New York is scheduled to take effect on Sept. 1. Democrats who voted for the bill said they believe three years’ worth of social media posts will allow regulators to determine whether applicants are considered dangerous — and of course, any venting or angry posts will no doubt be considered disqualifying, meaning New York will effectively be limiting who can get a concealed carry license in just about the same way that led to the Bruen decision.
And then New Yorkers will be right back on the federal court merry-go-round awaiting another high court ruling, which could take years. And so on -- though the new law is not likely to generate a federal court challenge until provisions of it (like the unconstitutional searching of social media posts) takes place.
“Applicants seeking concealed-carry permits will also have to provide four character references, take 16 hours of firearms safety training plus two hours of practice at a range, undergo periodic background checks, and turn over contact information for their spouse, domestic partner or any other adults living in their household,” The Daily Wire reported, citing The Associated Press.
When Democrats accuse Republicans and MAGA-supporting conservatives of being ‘anti-democratic’ and ‘authoritarian,’ in reality, they are merely projecting. They are the party of authoritarianism and unconstitutional actions, not the GOP, which only recommended solid constitutionalists for President Donald Trump to nominate to the federal bench.
That's why the New York concealed carry law got struck down in the first place.
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