NEW YORK: The New York state passed a law on Friday banning guns at many public places, including Times Square, and requiring gun-licence applicants to prove their shooting proficiency and submit their social media accounts for review.

The law, passed in an emergency legislative session, was forced by a landmark US Supreme Court ruling last week that struck down New York’s restrictive gun-licence laws. The court’s conservative majority ruled for the first time that the US Constitution grants an individual the right to carry weapons in public for self-defence.

New York’s Democratic leaders have decried the ruling and the court, saying there will be more gun violence if there are more people carrying guns.

Law is set to take effect on Sept 1

They conceded they must loosen the state’s century-old permit scheme to comply with the ruling, but sought to keep as many restrictions as they could in the name of public safety. Some will likely be targets for further legal challenges.

The court ruled that New York’s former licence regime, which dates from 1911, gave too much discretion to officials to deny a permit.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who ordered the extraordinary session in the legislature, said the state’s gun-licensing regulations had resulted in New York having the fifth-lowest rate of gun deaths of the 50 US states.

“Our state will continue to keep New Yorkers safe from harm, even despite this setback from the Supreme Court,” she told a news conference in the state capital, Albany, while lawmakers were debating the bill. “They may think they can change our lives with the stroke of a pen, but we have pens, too.” The court’s ruling allowed that people could be banned from carrying weapons in certain “sensitive places” but warned lawmakers against applying the label too broadly.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2022

Opinion

Accessing the RSF

Accessing the RSF

RSF can help catalyse private sector inves­tment encouraging investment flows, build upon institutional partnerships with MDBs, other financial institutions.

Editorial

Madressah oversight
Updated 19 Dec, 2024

Madressah oversight

Bill should be reconsidered and Directorate General of Religious Education, formed to oversee seminaries, should not be rolled back.
Kurram’s misery
Updated 19 Dec, 2024

Kurram’s misery

The state must recognise that allowing such hardship to continue undermines its basic duty to protect citizens’ well-being.
Hiking gas rates
19 Dec, 2024

Hiking gas rates

IMPLEMENTATION of a new Ogra recommendation to increase the gas prices by an average 8.7pc or Rs142.45 per mmBtu in...
Geopolitical games
Updated 18 Dec, 2024

Geopolitical games

While Assad may be gone — and not many are mourning the end of his brutal rule — Syria’s future does not look promising.
Polio’s toll
18 Dec, 2024

Polio’s toll

MONDAY’s attacks on polio workers in Karak and Bannu that martyred Constable Irfanullah and wounded two ...
Development expenditure
18 Dec, 2024

Development expenditure

PAKISTAN’S infrastructure development woes are wide and deep. The country must annually spend at least 10pc of its...