Michael J. Dillon Memorial U.S. Courthouse, Buffalo, NY
Happy New Year, Daily Kos! Four states have major new gun control laws that go into effect this week,
New York,
Connecticut,
California, and
Illinois.
Just in time for the new year, the first constitutional review of the NYSAFE Act* has been completed. Federal Judge Skretny, of the Western District of New York, issued his decision yesterday, December 31, 2013. Quoting Judge Skretny on page 53 of the opinion:
[T]his Court finds that the challenged provisions of the SAFE Act — including the Act’s definition and regulation of assault weapons and its ban on large-capacity magazines — further the state’s important interest in public safety, and do not impermissibly infringe on Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights.
[...]
[T]he seven-round limit fails the relevant test because the purported link between the ban and the State’s interest is tenuous, strained, and unsupported in the record.
In plain English?
The Western District of New York upheld most of NY’s new gun law.
Only one provision of the new law was struck down as a violation of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self defense. The suit also challenged ten sections of the assault weapons ban. Seven of the ten sections were upheld and three sections were struck down because they were too vague. Vague law is bad for two reasons. First, when a law is vague, citizens can’t tell clearly how to avoid breaking the law. Second, vague law leads to vague jury instructions and it is the details in the jury instructions that determine whether a law can be enforced effectively.
New York's gun laws are complicated. Please feel free to post any questions or requests and useful links in the comments, so we all can learn together. Please join us below the fold as we take a peek at the NYSAFE Act website and some of the goals of the new law. We will publish our first diary covering the judge's decision tomorrow morning.
This is an Open Thread.
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The Daily Kos Firearms Law and Policy group studies actions for reducing firearm deaths and injuries in a manner that is consistent with the current Supreme Court interpretation of the Second Amendment. We also cover the many positive aspects of gun ownership, including hunting, shooting sports, and self-defense.
To see our list of original and republished diaries, go to the Firearms Law and Policy diary list. Click on the ♥ or the word "Follow" next to our group name to add our posts to your stream, and use the link next to the heart to send a message to the group if you have a question or would like to join.
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*A
diary on the NYSAFE Act was published yesterday with an erroneous title.
The NYTimes has a review of the decision.
The judge, William M. Skretny of Federal District Court in Buffalo, said expanded bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines were legally sound because they served to “further the state’s important interest in public safety.”
The new laws in New York, enacted in January 2013, are among the most restrictive in the country. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, pushed for the state to be the first to take action after the mass school shooting in Newtown, Conn.; gun rights groups accused him of ramming through new gun restrictions they called ill-conceived, poorly understood and unconstitutional.
In a 54-page ruling, Judge Skretny struck down a well-known but troubled portion of the law, which prohibited gun owners from loading more than seven rounds into a magazine. He called the limit “an arbitrary restriction” that violated the Second Amendment.
Further Reading - The NYSAFE Act - Home Page
The have separate resources pages and FAQs linked for:
Constitutional restrictions on the Second Amendment RKBA
Recent Court Decisions upholding New York's strict gun laws