NYC Gun licensing deemed unconstitutional by Manhattan federal judge

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A federal judge ruled this week that provisions to New York City’s gun restrictions are unconstitutional, according to reports.

The restrictions, weighing factors such as criminal history and driving record, have required those applying for permits to prove “good moral character.”

Manhattan Federal Judge John P. Cronan’s ruling, which came in response to a 2022 lawsuit filed by a prospective gun owner in Brooklyn, deemed the city law a violation of the Constitution’s 2nd and 14th amendments.

The plaintiff applied for a license in 2018 and again in 2019, seeking to obtain various firearms for his home. He was denied in both instances by the NYPD Licensing Division, which cited prior arrests, bad driving history and supposedly false statements on applications, the court filing notes.

The lawsuit is seeking “monetary, declaratory, and injunctive relief.

The judge’s decision Tuesday read in part;

“Each of these provisions allows for the denial of a firearm permit upon a City official’s determination of the applicant’s lack of ‘good moral character’ or upon the official’s finding of ‘other good cause.’”

“Without doubt, the very notions of ‘good moral character’ and ‘good cause’ are inherently exceedingly broad and discretionary. Someone may be deemed to have good moral character by one person, yet a very morally flawed character by another…” wrote Cronan.

“The constitutional infirmities identified herein lie not in the City’s decision to impose requirements for the possession of handguns, rifles, and shotguns,” Cronan states. “Rather, the provisions fail to pass constitutional muster because of the magnitude of discretion afforded to City officials in denying an individual their constitutional right to keep and bear firearms, and because of Defendants’ failure to show that such unabridged discretion has any grounding in our Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

In written…