SCOTUS declines to block New York's concealed carry regulation, pending litigation

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to block a New York law restricting concealed carry from taking effect.

In June of 2022, the Supreme Court struck down a New York requirement that concealed carry permit applicants demonstrate a need to carry a firearm. In turn, the state legislature passed the sweeping Concealed Carry Improvement Act, including an exhaustive list of "sensitive locations" in which permitholders could not lawfully carry.

That law has since been the subject of considerable legal scrutiny, with a U.S. District Judge imposing an injunction on the law from taking effect last year. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals had stayed that injunction without specifying its reason. Plaintiffs had asked the nation's top court to reimpose the injunction, which the court declined to do.

A statement from Associate Justice Samuel Alito, whom Associated Justice Clarence Thomas joined, noted that the Second Circuit has previously "issued unreasoned summary stay orders, but in those cases it has ordered expedited briefing" and encouraged plaintiffs to again seek relief " if the Second Circuit does not, within a reasonable time, provide an explanation for its stay order or expedite consideration of the appeal."

New York Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney lamented the court's refusal to halt the law's implementation, saying on Twitter that "I am disappointed that SCOTUS did not stop NY’s unconstitutional CCIA from going into effect."

"The Supreme Court must intervene like they did in NYSRPA v. Bruen," she continued, referencing the court's 2022 ruling that ended the state's "proper cause" requirement for permit applicants.