BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

CANTON — The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has once again reinstated a large portion of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) months after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the court’s previous decision upholding the laws. 

“Gun safety laws save lives and keep our streets safer. Today’s ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upholds the core tenets of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, the common-sense measure I signed into law two years ago that is saving lives across New York. That’s one reason why New York continues to have one of the lowest firearm mortality rates of any state in the nation. Public safety is my top priority, and I’ll continue to fight gun violence and protect all New Yorkers,” Governor Kathy Hochul said after the court upheld and reinstated much of the law.

The case in question, Antonyuk v. Nigreli, has been in the works for roughly two years now following the passage of the CCIA following two mass shootings at a Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, NY, and the Uvalde, TX, school shooting. 

Under the CCIA, state legislators and Governor Kathy Hochul passed multiple laws that created new requirements to obtain a concealed carry license and governed firearm ownership in general, including a 16-hour course with two hours of range time, an extensive list of spaces where firearms are prohibited, the requirement to disclose all social media information to law enforcement, the requirement to disclose all firearms and persons in the home, along with a “good moral character” clause that gave licensing officers broad discretion of what constitutes “good moral character.”

Supreme Court Justices had vacated the 2nd Circuit  decision to uphold the controversial CCIA, remanding the case back to the Appeals Court for another look.

In doing so, the Supreme Court had in essence reverted back to a Northern District court decision from Justice Glenn T. Suddaby that largely ruled the CCIA to be unconstitutional until the 2nd Circuit weighed in again.

St. Lawrence County Attorney Steve Button has been working as counsel with Gun Owners of America on the Antonyuk case since county legislators approved his participation in Oct. 2022. 

With the 2nd Circuit’s new ruling in place a number of “sensitive spaces” that were struck by the Supreme Court’s intervention are now back on the effective list.

No firearms will be permitted in urban parks, zoos, hospitals, menthol health or chemical dependency providers, bars and restaurants that allow for on site alcohol consumption, along with banquet halls, theaters, schools and governmental buildings. 

A requirement to provide proof of “good moral character” has also been reinstated, a controversial measure that many critics of the legislation say gives licensing authorities broad and ambiguous discretion to deny an applicant. 

Applicants will also once again be forced to remit information about cohabitants in the home, including children, grandchildren, spouses or partners and other habitants. 

Enjoined in the decision, or struck by the court, is the requirement to disclose social media profiles for investigation, as well as a former restriction to carry on private lands that are open to the public. 

Public parks not including urban zoos and parks are also enjoined by the decision. 

Houses of worship are allowed to have armed security on site, a move that was not enjoined by the decision but led to statutory changes. 

Gun rights organizations previously argued that under the original interpretation of the CCIA, anecdotally 97% of the state would have been considered a prohibited space.

Even after language was adopted in the 2023 budget bill that excluded the Adirondack Park and Catskills Park as prohibited spaces, critics of the legislation said nearly half of the state was still a prohibited space, essentially nullifying a conceal carry license.

Court documents show that justices hearing arguments took a very different approach from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals on the scope of the 2nd Amendment, while also taking a very narrow view of standing. 

In one section, justices commented that church assemblies were not even within the gamut of protected assemblies under the 1st Amendment, a stance that has been continually overturned in Federal Courts that have in fact said churches are in fact covered under the 1st Amendment. 

Antonyuk was launched following the now famous NYSRPA v. Bruen decision in 2022 that greatly expanded gun rights. 

Under the ruling, many gun rights organizations have since launched lawsuits against state lawmakers, arguing laws passed to ban "assault rifles" and high capacity magazines, among others, violate the 2nd Amendment.

Button said cases are now weighed against a historical analogue that must be consistent with those passed at the founding of the nation and when the 2nd Amendment was ratified in 1791.

In many cases, state lawmakers and attorneys general have since pivoted to an 1868 interpretation of the laws, arguing that post-Reconstruction Era urban centers were on the rise and further restrictions on firearms became necessary for the safety of the public.

But critics of that interpretation say those laws were founded in racist rhetoric as governments sought to keep firearms out of the hands of Native Americans, freed slaves and former Confederate soldiers and sympathizers who may harbor those allegiances post-Civil War.

Options moving forward for GOA include taking up the cases again and appealing up to the Supreme Court once again or accepting the remand order and litigating the case at the District Court level again and working up to the 2nd Circuit. 

In a public statement following the court’s decision, GOA officials signaled they may in fact be taking the case to the Supreme Court, however no official action has been announced as of press time. 

“This is an outrageous ruling from a court of anti-gun judges. The 2nd Circuit got it wrong the first time, SCOTUS (Supreme Court) told them to try again and this nearly identical ruling is a slap in the face to every gun owner in New York. We will continue the fight in Antonyuk v. Nigreli,” GOA officials wrote.