A Federal judge ruled that NYC cannot use “good moral character” and “good cause” as criteria to issue gun permits. U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan ruled that part of the City’s gun restrictions were unconstitutional.
Joseph Srour was denied a license to have rifles and shotguns in his home in 2019. The City’s restrictions called for the subjective “good moral character” and “good cause” to deny him his 2nd amendment rights. The City used his poor driving records, prior arrests, and a lie on the ATF form as claims that it was justified. But the portion of the form they used as a lie has since been changed.
LEGAL ALERT: A federal judge has struck down New York City's "good moral character" and "good cause" requirements for gun licenses, and stayed the decision until 10/26 so the state has time to consider appealing. https://t.co/kN63gxqnzo pic.twitter.com/C1V8c8Y8Iy
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) October 24, 2023
Moral Character designation violates the Constitution and Bruen Supreme Court Ruling.
“Defendants have failed to show that the broad discretion afforded to licensing officials under subsections (a)(2) and (a)(9) of New York City Administrative Code Section 10-303, which imposes the permit requirement for rifles and shotguns, and the pre-amendment versions of Sections 3-03 and 5-10 of Title 38 of the RCNY, is consistent with the history and tradition of firearm regulation in this country. Each of these provisions allows for the denial of a firearm permit upon a City official’s determination of the applicant’s lack of “good moral character” or upon the official’s finding of “other good cause”—broad and unrestrained discretionary standards which Defendants have not shown to have Case 1:22-cv-00003-JPC Document 43 Filed 10/24/23 Page 2 of 48 3 any historical underpinning in our country. And because that unconstitutional exercise of discretion occurs every time a licensing official applies or has applied these provisions, they each are facially unconstitutional…
The constitutional infirmities identified herein lie not in the City’s decision to impose requirements for the possession of handguns, rifles, and shotguns. Rather, the provisions fail to pass constitutional muster because of the magnitude of discretion afforded to City officials in denying an individual their constitutional right to keep and bear firearms, and because of Defendants’ failure to show that such unabridged discretion has any grounding in our Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” Excerpt from Judge Cronan’s ruling
The Bruen decision required a historical tradition of firearm regulation. The regulation in NYC was far too broad and subjective, leaving any semblance of a historical tradition out of the question. The Judge gave the City until October 26 to appeal the decision.
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Cross-Posted with Conservativ4 Firing Line
