Below is a comment from a New York resident at a site where I was reading about the decision. Sounds like there’s still a lot to overcome in that state.
I live in NY. It is not the NY that most people think of; I am 400 miles from NYC and only 200 miles from Cleveland. Where I live is basically the Eastern Midwest, not “New York.”
This decision is a good thing and it is a win, but trust me it is not quite as big of a deal as people are making it out to be. What people who are not from NY do not realize is that a NY handgun permit is not just a CCW permit; it is a discretionary permit to OWN and POSSESS a REGISTERED handgun that can be confiscated by the State at any time for any reason.
For instance, if you get ACCUSED of misdemeanor DUI, even if you have not been CONVICTED, the State can and will CONFISCATE your handguns — and after the SAFE Act, they can confiscate your long guns too.
None of this was addressed in the Bruen decision.
NYS handgun permit law requires that you demonstrate “just cause” (which is totally subjective) as to why you “need” a handgun. Licenses are issued by county judges who normally hear felony trials. Many judges, including in some very rural areas, NEVER accept “self-defense” as a “just cause” for owning and carrying a handgun. Many judges will ONLY issue a license for “hunting and target shooting,” period.
Bizarre as it may sound, violating these restrictions — i.e., carrying when you are not actually hunting or target shooting — is NOT illegal and you cannot be charged with a crime. But the judge CAN and WILL revoke your discretionary permit to POSSESS an handgun, even on your own private property, for violating these “administrative” restrictions. When your permit to POSSESS is revoked the State will CONFISCATE your handguns.
The Bruen decision says that the State cannot require an applicant to prove a “special need” justifying CCW for self-defense. In other words, Bruen says that if a judge issues a permit, it cannot have “hunting and target only” restrictions on it.
But the application and licensing process remains. In order to POSSESS a REGISTERED handgun on your own private property (with a maximum 10 rd capacity), you will still need a police background check, fingerprints, a mental health evaluation, HIPAA waiver, a safety class, between four and eight personal references, and to spend hundreds of dollars in fees and fill out a 35-40 page notarized application under penalty of perjury that is about as intrusive as a rectal exam, which asks questions like if you have bows and arrows and where they are stored.
Beyond that, the State will take steps to effectively nullify Bruen, namely: 1) they will use any and every subjective “mental health” criteria they can to deny people, and 2) they will make it it felony to carry on any private property without the express consent of the owner, meaning that if you get a carry permit in NYC literally the only place you will be able to carry is on the public sidewalk and you will not be able to enter any private restaurant, bar, deli, store, or office without getting a felony arrest which, upon conviction, will bar you from owning firearms for life.
What Real Americans in Real America need to understand is that these people are like a cult, gun control is like religion to them. Trying to get them to accept the Bruen decision is basically like going to the Grand Mosque in Mecca and trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. They simply will not listen and will gladly kill you rather than convert.
Count on it.
