Gun rights activists filed a federal lawsuit on Monday, seeking to strike down New York laws that prevent nonresidents from possessing or carrying firearms in public within the state.
“Those who hold out of state driver’s licenses may drive in New York, but the exercising of one’s constitutional right to bear arms in New York State is wholly inaccessible to the 94% of Americans who are not state residents,” Gun Owners of America said in a Monday press statement. “New York is the only known state where nonresidents are not allowed to exercise their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.”
According to the complaint, New York laws require some form of firearm license to even possess handguns and semi-automatic rifles in the state. This, combined with the inability of nonresidents to obtain a New York permit, means nonresidents cannot even possess a gun within a private domicile or on private property in New York in most cases, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Newsmax TV host Carl Higbie, who is also a retired U.S. Navy SEAL. The lawsuit was also filed on behalf of gun owners Joseph Harris and Michael Votruba.
Mr. Higbie is a resident of Connecticut and holds a Connecticut State Pistol Permit, which permits him to bear arms in public in Connecticut and 27 other U.S. states that honor Connecticut’s carry permits.
Mr. Harris and Mr. Votruba are both residents of Massachusetts and currently possess unrestricted Massachusetts Licenses to Carry firearms, which permit them to bear arms in public in Massachusetts and 27 other states.
“If allowed to apply for a New York carry permit, Mr. Higbie, Mr. Harris, and Mr. Votruba would do so. However, they are prohibited even from applying because they do not live, are not principally employed, and do not own property in New York,” the federal complaint states. “Were they allowed to apply for New York permits, Mr. Higbie, Mr. Harris, and Mr. Votruba would meet the eligibility standards required as, but for the prohibition on their applying by virtue of their out-of-state residency, they otherwise are eligible to possess and carry firearms in the State of New York.”
The lawsuit notes the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, in which gun rights activists challenged New York State laws that required carry permit applicants to demonstrate a proper cause for obtaining a permit and allowed local officials to reach a subjective determination as to whether an applicant had demonstrated a compelling need for their permit to be granted. The Supreme Court ruled that New York and other states that employed subjective criteria must instead establish objective standards for people to obtain carry permits in the state.
“Plaintiffs Higbie, Harris, and Votruba are the kind of persons discussed by the Supreme Court in its recent opinion in Bruen – that is, they are typical, law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs, who cannot be dispossessed of their right to bear arms in public for self-defense in the State of New York simply because they do not live, are not principally employed, and do not own property in New York,” the complaint reads.
The lawsuit argues that New York’s laws violate both the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which enshrines the right to bear arms; and the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
The plaintiffs seek to have the portions of New York law constraining the issuance of carry permits to out-of-state residents declared unconstitutional. The plaintiffs further seek to have a court order compelling New York to honor firearm carry permits issued by other states, and a court order compelling New York to allow people outside the state to apply for New York carry permits.
The lawsuit specifically names acting New York State Police Superintendant Steven G. James, Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Borgault, and Columbia County Sheriff Donald J. Krapf as defendants in the case.
All three defendants have the authority to enforce New York’s firearm laws and arrest unlicensed individuals carrying firearms within the state.
NTD News reached out to the three defendants named in the lawsuit but did not receive a response by press time.
