New York State Defeats Challenge to Gun Licensing Laws

New York residents who said the state’s gun licensing laws violated their fundamental right to possess firearms lacked standing to challenge the regulations and failed to show that the criteria for licensing were impermissibly vague, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday.

The Libertarian Party of Erie County and several individual plaintiffs sued state officials including Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) over New York’s general prohibition on the possession of firearms without a license. They sought injunctive and declaratory relief, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.

To obtain a license for at-home possession of a firearm in New York, an applicant must ...