Supreme Court Asked to Halt Morality Requirement in NY Gun Law

A New York City resident asked the US Supreme Court to prohibit authorities from enforcing a local gun licensing scheme that requires applicants to show good moral character.

Joseph Srour asked the justices on Friday to vacate an appellate stay of a trial judge’s decision letting the regulation go into effect.

The stay by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit “was impulsive and legally infirm,” Srour said. It was put in place while the challenge works its way through the courts.

Judge John Cronan, of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, in October halted the licensing scheme. It requires individuals to show that they possessed “good moral character” before they could own a rifle or shotgun for self-defense.

The court based its decision on the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen. That requires governments show a “historical analogue” to justify limits on Second Amendment rights.

A separate challenge to the city’s moral character requirement is already pending at the court in Antonyuk v. James.

The Roberts Court has provided robust Second Amendment rights, and is set to rule on other gun-related issues this term.

In US v. Rahimi, the court is considering whether federal law can prohibit alleged domestic abusers from possessing a firearm. And in Garland v. Cargill, the court is considering whether it can ban so-called bump stocks.

The justices last year turned away attempts to halt an Illinois ban on assault weapons.

The case is: Srour v. New York City, U.S., No. 23A870