New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen

Supporting New York’s concealed carry licensing law.

Courts: United States Supreme Court ​​(NYSRPA v. Bruen, NYSRPA v. Corlett); Second Circuit (NYSRPA v. Beach); Northern District of New York (NYSRPA v. Beach)

Issue at Stake: Public carrying of firearms outside the home

Summary: New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen is a case brought by the NRA’s New York affiliate challenging the state’s concealed carry licensing law as a violation of the Second Amendment. Under New York’s law, an applicant for a concealed carry license must show a non-speculative need to carry a handgun in public, for self-defense or other purposes, before being issued a license to do so. 

Everytown filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in defense of New York’s law. The brief rebuts key parts of the NRA’s historical arguments, showing how the NRA misreads the relevant sources. It further explains that New York’s law is consistent with a centuries-long tradition in both England and the United States of regulating the carrying of weapons in public to protect public peace, and that many historical laws were in fact more restrictive than New York’s.

Everytown previously filed an amicus brief in the underlying case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Beach, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. The district court rejected the Second Amendment challenge based on existing circuit precedent. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit summarily affirmed. 

Decision: The Supreme Court concluded that the Second Amendment analysis should focus on constitutional text and history. Applying that analysis, the Court held that New York’s “proper cause” requirement was unconstitutional.

Other Analysis: In a report, Everytown highlighted problems with the Petitioners’ claims that prominent members of the founding generation carried guns.

Case Documents