A federal judge recently allowed legal challenges to take place against New York’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” that violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
A group of individuals filed a lawsuit against the Empire State’s unconstitutional gun-grabbing law in December 2022, claiming that it “infringe(s) the right of law-abiding, peaceful citizens to keep and bear commonly possessed firearms…”
In May 2023, attorneys for New York officials filed a motion in the Southern District of New York to dismiss the individuals’ complaint, claiming that the court does not possess the authority to take up such a case.
The attorneys argued that the plaintiffs “fail to establish that any injury-in-fact is traceable to the assault weapons ban” because they do not reveal whether they hold a license for a semi-automatic weapon.
U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Karas sided with the plaintiffs and allowed the group’s challenge against New York’s law to continue.
“While there may be serious questions about Plaintiffs’ exemption argument, the Court need not address that question here because Plaintiffs adequately allege standing under Defendants’ interpretation of the statute,” Karas wrote.
“Put simply, Defendants have failed to explain how invalidating the Assault Weapons Ban would have no effect on the ability to obtain licenses for those same weapons,” Karas added in his ruling.
New York’s “assault weapons” ban is unconstitutional for several reasons. First off, there is no such thing as an “assault weapon.” The widely used term by the left is merely a euphemism for all weapons.
New York defines such a weapon as a “semiautomatic rifle that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following characteristics: (1) a folding or telescoping stock; (2) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon; (3) a thumbhole stock” among other factors.
RedState reported that a telescoping stock could make one’s weapon easier to conceal.
Judge Allows Challenge to New York 'Assault Weapon' Ban to Proceedhttps://t.co/RyBdQkEriW
— RedState (@RedState) January 4, 2024
Interestingly, New York pays no attention to the semi-automatic rifle, the Winchester 100, which does not have the attributes the state defines as an “assault weapon” but operates similarly to an “assault rifle,” which Democrats want to ban.
The Empire State’s ban on what it deems to be “assault weapons” is a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, where it said that the state requiring a license to carry concealed weapons in public areas is a blatant violation of the Second Amendment.