Syracuse, N.Y. — A federal appeals court Friday upheld much of New York state’s gun laws, including the authority to ban guns in most sensitive places such as parks and schools and to require people seeking to carry guns to show “good moral character.”
But the court cannot outright ban guns from private property where the public gathers or from house of worship. That means properties would have to explicitly ban guns, the court ruled.
It also ruled the state cannot review a person’s social media accounts when considering issuing a permit to carry a gun.
The Second Circuit Court of the U.S. Court of Appeals issued its ruling after considering four lower court challenges to New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act.
The state adopted the gun law July 1, 2022 shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the state’s laws governing guns and when people can carry firearms in public. That law had been place for more than 100 years.
The new state law was quickly challenged in various federal courts that issued varying, sometimes conflicting, rulings that landed the cases in the appeals court.
The state’s new law required anyone who wished to have a gun in the home and for concealed carry needed to show “good moral character.” That law said that part of the check of a person’s character required gun owners to disclose their social media accounts for the past three years.
The law also made it illegal to carry a gun in certain “sensitive locations” even with a license. There were 20 categories of sensitive locations including schools, voting places, bars and places of worship.
In one of the challenges, U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby of Syracuse struck down most of the law as unconstitutional.
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Suddaby, a Republican former Onondaga County prosecutor, specifically found that many of the gun-free zones lacked historical precedent.
In the ruling Friday, the judges overturned Suddaby, finding he was too dismissive of laws from the late 19th century and statutes enacted by pre-state territories.
Banning guns at churches, businesses
The appeals court ruled the state cannot order that guns are off-limits at places of worship or private properties open to the public.
The court ruled privately owned locations must individually ban guns on their own, with signs that they do not want guns on the property. If they don’t do that, a person can carry a gun onto the property, the court found.
One of the main challenges to the ban of guns at places of worship and other sensitive places came from Joseph Mann, a pastor at Fellowship Baptist Church in Parish, Oswego County. Mann wanted to be able to carry his gun while at the church, according to the ruling.
Mann won the appeal, with the court ruling that guns are not banned at places of worship.
Another challenge to the state law was brought by a man who said he wanted to bring his gun to the Rosamund Gifford Zoo in Syracuse. The judges ruled Friday against the man, saying the ban can be enforced in zoos and public parks.
Social media lists, good moral character
The court also said the state cannot require applicants for a gun license to submit a list of social media accounts. This could be seen as an infringement of First Amendment rights, the court ruled.
Applicants will have to be deemed in “good moral character” and give authorities a list of people living with them.
The keeping of the “good moral character” requirement will ensure people who would cause harm to themselves or others will still not have access to guns, the court ruled. If someone is determined to not have “good moral character” then a written rejection must be given, the judges said.
However, the court noted that a licensing officer could review someone’s public social media “like anybody else.”
Editor’s note: This article updated to clarify the court’s ruling on “sensitive areas.”
Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, photo, question or comment? Reach her at 315-396-5961, on Twitter @kirk_rylee, or rkirk@syracuse.com.