New Yorkers don’t need to disclose social media accounts to carry a firearm, federal court rules 

New Yorkers don’t have to give state officials a list of their social media accounts in order to apply for concealed carry permits, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, striking down portions of the Empire State’s 2022 gun law. 

The 261-page ruling, handed down by a three-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, also blocked New York from enforcing restrictions on carrying concealed firearms on private property that is accessible to the public, as well as restriction on carrying in houses of worship.

“Disclosing one’s social media accounts — including ones that are maintained pseudonymously — forfeits anonymity in that realm. Conditioning a concealed carry license on such a disclosure imposes a burden on the right to bear arms that is without sufficient analogue in our nation’s history or tradition of firearms regulation,” the judges wrote in their ruling, referencing a standard set by the Supreme Court in last year’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen case, which overturned the state’s century-old law restricting the carrying of concealed firearms. 

New York’s “Concealed Carry Improvement Act” had required gun license applicants to submit a list of former and current social media accounts, from the past three years, to state officials for review. 

However, other aspects of the law were allowed to remain in place, including a requirement that applicants demonstrate “good moral character” and list household and family members on a license application. 

New York will also be allowed to enforce concealed carry bans in “sensitive places,” such as theaters, bars, and public parks. 

“Governor Hochul and her cabal in Albany never seem to get the message, and in turn, [Gun Owners of America] is proud to have played a major role in rebuking her unconstitutional law. Nevertheless, this was not a total victory, and we will continue the fight until this entire law is sent to the bowels of history where it belongs,”  Erich Pratt, the senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, a prominent gun rights group, said in a statement. 

Sam Paredes, a member of the board of directors for the Gun Owners Foundation, expressed frustration that the court allowed the “good moral character” provision to remain in place and indicated that his group may seek relief from the Supreme Court. 

“It’s encouraging that the Court blocked the intrusive social media provisions, but just as intrusive are the processes needed to confirm someone is ‘of good moral character,’ which the Court has inexplicably chosen to uphold,” Paredes said in a statement. “Frustratingly, much of this Court’s opinion reads like an insubordinate rebuke of the Supreme Court, which is a disgrace and cannot be allowed to stand. We are weighing action at the nation’s High Court.”  

The panel judges ruled that lower courts erred in previously striking down New York’s “good moral character” clause, arguing that the requirement is consistent with the nation’s historical traditions of gun regulation. 

“The CCIA’s definition of ‘character’ is a proxy for dangerousness: whether the applicant, if licensed to carry a firearm, is likely to pose a danger to himself, others, or public safety,” the ruling states.

“And there is widespread consensus (notwithstanding some disputes at the margins) that restrictions which prevent dangerous individuals from wielding lethal weapons are part of the nation’s tradition of firearm regulation,” it continued. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James called the provisions of the gun law that the court left intact “critical” for keeping New Yorkers safe. 

“Today’s decision to permit the state to enforce critical provisions of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act as the court process moves forward will help keep New Yorkers safe,” James said in a statement. “This commonsense law was enacted to keep guns out of dangerous hands and away from schools, hospitals, parks, public transportation, and other sensitive locations. My office will continue to defend New York’s gun laws and use every tool to protect New Yorkers from senseless gun violence.”