Following its landmark loss at the U.S. Supreme Court in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), which made clear law-abiding citizens have a right to bear arms outside the home for self-defense, New York continues to thumb its nose at the Second Amendment. A recent article from Spectrum News NY1, summarized the woeful state of affairs at the notorious New York City Police Department License Division and the New Yorkers victim to their rule.
Recall, the Bruen case concerned a challenge to New York’s discretionary licensing scheme that required concealed carry license applicants to demonstrate “proper cause” to carry a firearm outside of their home. New York, and particularly New York City, routinely used the requirement and the discretion it afforded the government to deny law-abiding citizens the ability to protect themselves.
Following the decision, New York was supposed to join the rest of the nation in having a Right-to-Carry regime. Under this system, carry licenses are granted to everyone who meets a set list of defined criteria – such as not being a convicted violent felon or having completed rudimentary firearms training. In most jurisdictions, this involves simply running a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) inquiry, or the state equivalent.
In the wake of their Supreme Court defeat, New York hastily enacted the ill-named “Concealed Carry Improvement Act.” The updated carry regime still required applicants to convince government officials of their “good moral character” to secure a license. The NYPD License Division employs investigators to conduct what appear to be essentially open-ended background checks on prospective licensees.
Using the story of Manhattan carry license holder Jason Tsulis as a jumping off point, NY1 noted that he “faced unexplained delays in getting his license.” In fact, “Tsulis had an approved application but there was a delay in getting the actual license. To receive it, he had to get a lawyer to petition the NYPD in court.”
According to NY1, the problems at the NYPD License Division are so acute, that “[h]iring a lawyer has become an unofficial part of the process in New York.” The news outlet quoted one applicant who stated, “I have not received any communication from an investigator. I am now in the 11th month.”
According to an attorney who specializes in navigating the New York City carry license bureaucracy, the problem with the NYPD License Division is widespread. NY1 reported,
to attorney Mirel Fisch, "the License Division is simply not acting."
She has filed court petitions on behalf of 20 concealed carry applicants, including Tsulis. She also sent the NYPD about 250 letters.
These petitions typically get action.
"In New York, it’s almost taboo to talk about. People don’t like guns, people don’t like the idea of you having a gun, but it is a civil right," she said. "It’s your right to bear arms."
But that right is no match for the NYPD License Division.
"I think there’s just complete mismanagement," she said.
Moreover, NY1 revealed that in October there was a data breach at the License Division, explaining,
NY1 confirmed that in October, an NYPD licensing official emailing an applicant attached an intake spreadsheet containing the names of more than 8,000 firearm permit applicants from 2023 through October 2024 — more than 6,000 of the applicants were seeking concealed carry permits.
This isn’t the first time the NYPD License Division’s deplorable performance has made headlines. In the late 2010s the License Division was the subject of a federal corruption probe for trading handgun licenses for bribes.
Help could be on the way.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit case Antonyuk v. James is currently on petition for certiorari at the Supreme Court. The case challenges New York’s requirement that license applicants prove “good moral character” to the state. The plaintiff’s petition for writ of certiorari pointed out that New York’s current scheme violates Bruen, as
New York simply “replaced” proper cause with good moral character, “while retaining (and even expanding) the open-ended discretion afforded to its licensing officers.”
Thoroughly removing the type of government discretion prohibited by Bruen from the licensing process should help streamline license acquisition by New Yorkers and ensure that the Second Amendment is treated as the Constitutional right that it is rather than a privilege subject to bureaucratic whim (or available only at a price). That is why the NRA has filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the Antonyuk v. James cert petition and will continue to follow this case closely.
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