New York State Bar Association Decries U.S. Supreme Court Decision on Concealed Carry Law, Reconvenes Its Mass Shooting Task Force To Work With Lawmakers on Sensible Gun Control
6.23.2022
Sherry Levin Wallach, president of the New York State Bar Association, issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen:
As the nation reels in the wake of the Texas and Buffalo mass shootings and urban centers across the country struggle to contain an epidemic of gun violence, the U.S. Supreme Court has delivered an ill-conceived decision that will set us back decades and further threaten public safety.
New York’s common sense and century-old law on concealed carry permits struck an appropriate balance between preserving Second Amendment rights and preventing weapons from being procured by those who should not have them. The reality is that most gun permits were, in fact, granted even under the requirement that an individual establish proper cause to obtain a license.
New York’s elected officials must come up with new laws and regulations to make sure that incidents of gun violence do not rise because of this ruling.
Violent crime swelled an average of 13 to 15 percent in states that weakened their concealed carry permit standards, according to the Giffords Law Center. Research published in the July 2020 Justice Quarterly found that laws allowing more citizens to carry guns in public were tied to a rise in gun violence, and the higher a state’s gun-ownership rate, the more likely a mass shooting is to occur.
In my role as New York State Bar Association president, I have reconvened our Task Force on Mass Shootings and Assault Weapons to work in conjunction with our Criminal Justice Section to come up with new regulations to protect New Yorkers. We also call upon Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Attorney General Letitia James, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and our other elected representatives to immediately pursue a new framework of regulations to combat the scourge of gun violence.
About the New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. Since 1876, NYSBA has helped shape the development of law, educated, and informed the legal profession and the public, and championed the rights of New Yorkers through advocacy and guidance in our communities.
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