Defending New York’s restriction on carrying firearms in places of worship.
Courts: Western District of New York; Second Circuit
Issue at Stake: Places of worship as sensitive places
Summary: Hardaway v. Nigrelli is a challenge to the restriction on carrying firearms in places of worship in New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act.
On October 29, 2022, Everytown filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York in defense of New York’s restriction. The brief argues that the places of worship regulation is constitutional under the approach to Second Amendment cases set out in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen. It explains that the court should center its historical analysis on 1868 as opposed to 1791, and should also consider later laws. The brief also urges the court against dismissing the state’s historical analogues as outliers, because even a small number of laws can be sufficient to establish a tradition of firearm regulation under Bruen.
On November 3, 2022, the district court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction; New York appealed. Everytown subsequently submitted an amicus brief in the Second Circuit, urging the court to reverse the district court’s decision.
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