ALBANY, New York (AP) – New York will ban people from carrying firearms in many places for business unless owners put up a sign explicitly saying guns are welcome, Governor Kathy Hochul said Wednesday.
The Democrat said she and legislative leaders had agreed on much of the gun control bill, which is due to be passed as early as Thursday, just days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the U.S. gun licensing law.
Due to the court’s decision, for the first time in more than a century, ordinary New Yorkers will be able to obtain a license to carry a weapon outside the home for personal protection. Previously, it was difficult to obtain an unlimited gun license unless you worked for law enforcement or security.
But Hochul said he also wants to protect the rights of property owners who decide they do not want firearms on the premises.
Businesses that want guns around will have to put up a sign that says “Hidden guns are welcome here,” or words to that effect, Hochul said. “Otherwise, there will be a presumption in New York State that they are not.”
“We will protect the rights of private property owners by allowing them not to be subjected to anyone who enters their workplace or bar, a restaurant with a hidden weapon,” Hochul said.
Weapons advocacy groups have shuddered at the idea that firearms can be banned from many places by default.
“She tells business owners how they should run their business if they want to stay open. These are unconstitutional mandates and I think they will be overturned by the court, “said Aaron Dor, executive director of the State Firearms Association in New York.
The demand for new restrictions follows the Supreme Court’s ruling to repeal a provision in New York’s licensing law that requires people to show an unusual threat to their safety in order to carry a gun.
The state is setting new requirements for obtaining a gun permit, Hochul said, including a 15-hour personal shooting training requirement. The legislature will also introduce new rules for storing firearms in homes and vehicles, she said.
Hochul and his fellow Democrats also plan to create an exhaustive list of “sensitive places” where ordinary citizens will be completely banned from carrying firearms, including government buildings, hospitals, schools and public transport.
Several states, including California, are considering similar steps to review gun control measures following the Supreme Court ruling.
New York will be the first state to pass a law allowing concealed weapons only in businesses that explicitly allow them, according to David Puccino, deputy chief counselor at the Giffords Law Center for the Prevention of Violence with Weapons.
In many states where gunfire is common, it is usually up to businesses to post signs that firearms are not allowed. Some states, including Louisiana and South Carolina, require people to obtain a permit to bring firearms into private homes.
“The state is reacting in a very strong way to deal with the new risks created by the court, but in a way that fits into the framework proposed by the court of what the constitutional set of weapons laws looks like,” Puccino said.
The Supreme Court ruling said states could ban firearms in certain places, but warned that it would be unconstitutional to simply ban firearms in all densely populated areas.
Hochul said she was still working with lawmakers to work out the specifics of gun control legislation, including her proposal to ban people with a history of dangerous behavior from obtaining firearms permits.
Lawmakers will also require checks on all purchases of ammunition for weapons that require a permit, Hochul said.
This is something that is already required in several states, and the 2013 state law would also require such inspections in New York after the state created a database. But legislative leaders and former governor Andrew Cuomo agreed in 2015 to suspend work on the database.
Dorr, executive director of the State Firearms Association in New York, said requiring a background check would make it harder for gun owners to comply with the law without helping public safety.
“No criminal will go into a store to buy ammunition,” Dor said. “This is an absurd attempt to once again demonize law-abiding gun owners.”
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Maysoon Khan contributed to a report from Albany, New York Hahn is a member of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a national non-profit service program that accommodates journalists in local newsrooms to report on secret matters. Follow Maysoon Khan on Twitter.
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