New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. City of New York
08.13.19
Supporting New York City, and common sense gun safety laws, in U.S. Supreme Court’s first major Second Amendment case in a decade.
Court: United States Supreme Court
Issue at Stake: Transportation of firearms
Summary: Everytown for Gun Safety filed this amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the United States in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. City of New York (NYSRPA v. NYC). NYSRPA v. NYC is a case brought by the NRA’s New York affiliate challenging a former New York City rule that prohibited gun owners who are licensed only to possess guns in their New York City homes from transporting those guns to gun ranges, shooting competitions or second homes outside of the city. Everytown’s brief first argues that the case is moot because the challenged rule has been repealed by the City of New York and changes in state law preclude the city from reenacting the provision. Everytown’s brief then goes on to discuss the narrow nature of the original case, limited to questions about transporting guns to a gun range or second home, and why the Court should reject the NRA effort to expand the scope of the case to include public carry. Everytown’s brief focuses on rebutting the incorrect and misleading historical arguments about carrying guns in public made by both the plaintiffs and the NRA.
Decision: On April 27, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. City of New York, a challenge to a since-repealed New York City gun rule brought by the state chapter of the NRA. Despite the City’s repeal of the rule, and despite a new state law preventing them from being reenacted, the NRA hoped to use this case to roll back gun safety legislation nationwide. “The Supreme Court declined the invitation to adopt the NRA’s extreme and dangerous interpretation of the Second Amendment,” said Eric Tirschwell, managing director of Everytown Law, the litigation arm of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. “As courts across the country have repeatedly made clear, life-saving gun safety laws are fully consistent with the Second Amendment.”