NY Gun Policy: an Ode to the
Historic Racism & Bigotry of the Past

By Aidan Johnston. Aug 24, 2022

Following the Supreme Court's strong rebuke of New York State's discriminatory "proper cause" requirement to obtain a concealed-carry permit, legislators in Albany doubled down and enacted new, more invasive methods to dissuade law-abiding citizens who just want to carry a weapon to defend themselves.

In response, Gun Owners of America and our non-profit legal arm, Gun Owners Foundation, filed a lawsuit on behalf of a local resident – and you'll never guess what historic laws the State has now cited in Court as a defense.

In response to our lawsuit, New York argued their new subjective "good moral character" requirement was "consistent with the long history in both England and America" because two colonial laws in 1756 and 1763 ordered the "disarmament of all Catholics or 'reputed Papists,'" and forbade "the sale and trading of arms to indigenous people."

Yes, New York went there, which truly goes to show how committed the anti-gun crowd is to restricting your Second Amendment rights at all costs. The fact that their best justification for this policy is the historical disarmament of minorities underscores the dangerous and historically discriminatory nature of gun control laws. The Second Amendment empowers the people to hold the majority accountable and to protect their freedoms, which is precisely why Catholics and Native Americans were disarmed.

Many in our society today would like to believe that the policies cited by New York in their brief are behind us. Contrary to that opinion, however, we are actively witnessing the opposite. .....