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New York Court of Appeal Rules Gun Owners Can Bring Firearms to Houses of Worship

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A US court of appeals ruled Friday that New York state cannot prevent gun owners from bringing their weapons to houses of worship as to do so would be unconstitutional, Reuters reports.

In reaching this decision, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled that it is permissible for New York to ban firearms in “sensitive locations” like parks, zoos, bars, and theaters.

The Dec. 8 decision arose in a lawsuit filed by the Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation gun rights groups and a number of New York residents, Reuters reports. The plaintiffs were challenging New York’s 2022 Concealed Carry Improvement Act, claiming it to be unconstitutional.

The Concealed Carry Improvement Act made more people eligible to apply for a gun license but provided that applicants must show they are of “good moral character,” Reuters reports. The law also banned guns from many “sensitive locations,” including churches, medical offices, public parks, and theaters, Reuters said.

While a lower court in the case ruled that most of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act was unconstitutional, Friday’s three-judge panel ruled that many of the law’s restrictions were actually in keeping with America’s history of regulating firearms in crowded and public areas, Reuters reports.

At the same time, however, the Court of Appeals determined that “houses of worship have a constitutionally protected freedom to decide for themselves whether to allow otherwise legally possessed firearms into their facilities.”