CCDL filed an amicus brief in Antonyuk v. Nigrelli in February of 2023. This case is challenging several aspects of New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act. While the New York Law affects New York residents, the importance of this case is far reaching as the New York law severely and unconstitutionally restricts an individual’s right to carry. As we are also in the Second Circuit, it directly affects Connecticut gun owners and should our lawmakers follow New York’s lead, our rights could be as severely restricted.
On Friday December 8, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued their ruling on this important case along with four other related cases. The Second Circuit affirmed the injunction against a requirement that an applicant for a carry license must disclose social media accounts as part of the application process, while upholding other parts of the revised application process having to do with “good moral character.”
The Second Circuit remanded for further proceedings on the merits of the case. It struck down the injunctions against specific “sensitive places” identified in the new law, although this can be revisited on remand. This was done because the plaintiffs ostensibly lacked standing to challenge those provisions, or the provisions were found not to violate the Second Amendment on their face.
One clear and important victory for the pro-Second Amendment side was that the Second Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction against that portion of the law that required getting affirmative permission to carry on private property open to the public (such as office buildings, commercial establishments, stores, and the like). The court also upheld an injunction in favor of a church on religious grounds.
The Second Circuit remanded for further proceedings on the merits of the cases.
