A federal appeals court has dealt a significant blow to New Yorks latest attempt to restrict lawful gun owners, striking down the states so-called vampire rule as a violation of the Second Amendment.
The ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit targets a key provision of the sweeping gun-control package Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul rushed through after the Supreme Court dismantled New Yorks may-issue concealed carry regime in 2022, according to Conservative Daily News. In that special legislative session, Hochul and her allies layered on new restrictions, including a requirement that private businesses and property owners explicitly post signs if they wished to allow concealed carry on their premises.
Under the statute, the default rule was that firearms were banned on private property open to the public unless the owner affirmatively invited them, a reversal of the traditional presumption that law-abiding citizens may exercise their rights unless expressly forbidden. The Second Circuit majority rejected that approach, declaring, The Private Property Provision, as applied to private property open to the public, does not fall within our Nations historical tradition of gun regulations.
Hochul had defended the measure as a way to give property owners control and to warn patrons that firearms might be present, a concept critics quickly labeled the vampire rule, riffing on the folklore that vampires must be invited inside. But the court noted that in practice, the law would chill the right to carry for ordinary citizens who have already passed background checks and obtained permits.
Because many private property owners will likely not post signs indicating whether firearms are permitted or forbidden on their premises, rules like the ones promulgated by New York and Hawaii will effectively prohibit individuals from carrying firearms on any private property, even private property that is open to the general population, the majority wrote. United States Circuit Judge Steven Menashi, appointed by President Donald Trump, agreed with striking down the vampire rule and argued the court should have gone further by invalidating the states ban on carry in public parks, which the panel left intact.
Democratic Attorney General Letitia James declined to comment when asked about the setback, even as gun-rights advocates hailed the decision as a crucial check on blue-state overreach. The FPC Grassroots Army put a stake in the heart of New Yorks vampire rule carry ban today. Well keep fighting in this and other cases to eliminate unconstitutional bans on carry in public parks so people can defend their lives in these public places, Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs said, underscoring that the legal battle over New Yorks resistance to the Supreme Courts Bruen decision is far from over.
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