Supreme Court agrees to review NYC gun restrictions

The Supreme Court said Monday that it will hear a challenge to a New York City law banning residents from transporting a handgun to a second home or shooting range outside the city limits even if the gun is licensed, locked and unloaded.

The challenge was brought by The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. and three licensed gun owners in the city, Romolo Colantone, Efrain Alvarez and Jose Anthony Irizarry.

{mosads}Colantone argued that he wants to be able to transport his handgun to his second home in Hancock, N.Y., to protect himself and his family. Colantone, along with Alvarez, Irizarry and the Rifle & Pistol Association, said they want to be able to transport handguns to target ranges and shooting competitions outside New York City to hone their shooting skills.

They claim the city’s ban violates the Second Amendment, the Commerce Clause of the Constitution and the constitutional right to travel.

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals sided with New York City, finding that the rule does not significantly inhibit the challengers’ ability to hone their skills at one of the seven firing ranges within the city limits. The court also found that the rule does not stop Colantone from obtaining a license from a different county for a gun at his second home.

The court’s willingness to take the case is significant given the justices have, for years, avoided weighing in on challenges to state and local gun restrictions. President Trump’s appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to replace the court’s swing vote, Justice Anthony Kennedy, however, has solidified a new conservative majority on the court.