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The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to rule on a suit challenging New York's licensing restrictions on carrying handguns in public.
(The Associated Press)
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to rule on a century-old law that makes it difficult for New York state residents to get a license to carry concealed handguns in public.
The high court without comment declined to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that the Sullivan Law did not infringe on the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Bloomberg News reported.
The Sullivan Law, passed in 1911 and modified in 1913, is not related to the NY Safe Act, the strict gun-control measure passed in January in the wake of the slayings of 20 children and six adults at a school in Newtown, Conn.
Two NY Safe Act provisions went into effect Monday. It was the first day of a yearlong period during which owners can register certain military-style weapons whose sale in New York has been banned. Also as of today, gun owners can no longer load more than seven rounds in a 10-round magazine unless they are in a shooting competition or at a gun range.
The Sullivan Law appeal had been sought by five residents of New York and the Second Amendment Foundation and had support from the National Rifle Association and 20 states.
According to Politics on the Hudson, the plaintiffs in Kacahlsky v. Cacace wanted the court to give relief against a requirement in the law that bars handgun licensing officials in New York from issuing licenses without "proper cause."
Plaintiff Alan Kachalsky argued in court papers that New York “treats the carrying of handguns for self- defense not as a right but as an administrative privilege lying beyond the reach of most people,” Bloomberg reported.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in return said New York's law was similar to others that repeatedly been upheld.
The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the law, ruling in August that the proper-cause requirement "is substantially related to New York’s compelling interests in public safety and crime prevention.”
As recently as 1981, only Maine, Vermont and Washington let typical residents carry weapons in public without giving a reason. Forty states allow it today, Bloomberg said, adding:
One federal court recently overturned an Illinois concealed weapon law, saying it violated the Second Amendment, but another federal court let stand a Maryland law that requires a "good and substantial reason" for carrying a handgun in public. A New Jersey law remains before a third court.
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