Will Open Carry Gun Laws In New York State Be Possible?

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on a century-old law that allows local officials great discretion over who can carry a handgun.

Already this year, the New York Police Department has recovered more than 3,000 guns, and such arrests have hit a 28-year high. But across the city and state, authorities are bracing for a ruling, expected from the United States Supreme Court this month, which could strike down a century-old New York State law that places strict limits on the carrying of handguns.

Overturning the law could make it far easier to legally carry a handgun in the state, which officials say may have violent consequences for cities already struggling to tamp down a spike in gun crime that began two years ago.

On Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams said that in preparation, he and others were looking to draft legislation on the federal, state and local levels, adding that the impending ruling keeps him “up at night.”

Under the law being challenged, it is illegal to carry a handgun openly, and a permit is required to carry one concealed. Such permits require a showing of “proper cause,” which requires applicants to demonstrate to courts or the local police that they have a heightened need to carry a gun. It is then up to those officials to determine whether or not the applicant will be issued a permit — a process that the lawyers for the upstate New Yorkers challenged in a case that made its way to the Supreme Court.