Supreme Court Allows New York Gun Control Law to Remain in Effect While Legal Challenge Continues

The Supreme Court has allowed a New York gun control law to remain in effect while a legal challenge against it continues. The decision is a strong signal from Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas that they are carefully watching to ensure federal courts do not ignore the high court’s landmark decision in June that expanded gun rights nationwide.

The June ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol v. Bruen has emboldened gun rights activists, who have seen early success in challenging an array of firearms regulations. The decision suggests the justices will wait before intervening as lower courts interpret the ruling, which for the first time found that individuals have a right to bear arms outside their own homes under the Constitution’s Second Amendment.

The New York gun control law was enacted in the wake of the June ruling and has been challenged by gun rights activists. The law restricts the possession of guns with large-capacity magazines, as well as the possession of guns by domestic-violence offenders and those under felony indictment.

The Supreme Court’s decision to allow the law to remain in effect while the legal challenge continues is a sign that the justices are taking a cautious approach to the June ruling, and are allowing lower courts to interpret the ruling before intervening. The decision has been met with both support and criticism from gun rights activists and supporters of gun restrictions.