BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a reply supporting its earlier motion for a preliminary injunction in the case of Christian v. Nigrelli, challenging New York State’s ban on carrying firearms in public parks under the state’s new concealed carry law.
SAF is joined by the Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc. and Brett Christian, a private citizen. They are represented by attorneys Nicolas J. Rotsko, Phillips Lytle LLP of Buffalo, N.Y. and David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson and John W. Tienken with Cooper & Kirk PLL in Washington, DC. The case was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.
“We are asking the court for a preliminary injunction and filed this new motion in support of the original complaint because it is imperative the court step in to prevent enforcement of this ban on carry in public parks,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The state’s new law bans firearms for ordinary, law-abiding citizens in every public park when there is no historical evidence of such blanket bans upon which the state bases its position.
“Mr. Christian has refrained from carrying firearms in parks and has even stopped visiting those parks he used to utilize prior to the new law taking effect,” Gottlieb added. “He has also refrained from carrying on public transportation, and in businesses open to the public, because the change in state law has increased the potential for his arrest and prosecution. Since New York’s new law took effect, he has only exercised his constitutional right to carry three times, while before he was able to carry nearly every day.”
The law, S51001, was hastily adopted in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which struck down New York’s century-old carry statute that required applicants for carry permits to show “good cause.” The new statute includes broad restrictions on where citizens may legally carry.
“This case perfectly illustrates the extreme nature of New York’s S51001,” Gottlieb stated. “We’re hoping the court acts quickly on our motion, and brings a halt to this nonsense.”