What Are Your Rights: Making Sense of The Gun Laws Debacle In Court

Announcer: Martin, Harding & Mazzotti.

Interviewer: We’ve been talking a lot about New York’s new gun law in our “What are your Rights?” segments. And we’re talking about them again because a federal judge recently blocked the enforcement of parts of the new law. So, managing partner, Paul Harding of Martin, Harding & Mazzotti is here now. So, Paul, tell us a little bit about the new law and what exactly the judge blocked?

Paul: So, it’s complex, you know, it is becoming like a little weaving puzzle here. Recently, what they blocked was, two things. One is, they didn’t like the fact that there were these guns-safe zones because they were just sort of all over the place. Times Square might have sounded reasonable, but then it was every park, and then it was church, and school, and restaurants. And so, they blocked that and they also blocked the part of it that New York put in that said, all social media could be forever is gonna be reviewed before you get your gun permit.

Interviewer: And so, what were the judge’s arguments for making these decisions to block these?

Paul: Yeah, you know, the judge says, look, you know, Supreme Court had recently just had an opinion on that, Second Amendment. It said, that’s inhibitive, it’s unconstitutional, you’re just asking too many things and it’s in violation of that, and you really didn’t support it, you didn’t back it up. You’re not saying, “Well, restaurants, because… Guns in restaurants produce this inordinate amount of bad behavior.” So, those two things, the judge said, we’re gonna block it.

Interviewer: Yeah. So much of this is some legalese here, right?

Paul: It is, yeah. A little tricky, yeah.

Interviewer: Just explaining it the right way is part of the problem. And so, tell me a little bit about now the New York Attorney General’s response to all this.

Paul: Yeah. So, just to make confusion significant confusion, she comes out and says, “Okay, judge, you’re blocking it. So, we got this law, you’re blocking it.” She’s appealing to unblock it while the case continues on its way through the court system and maybe back to the Supreme Court. So, she says, Letitia’s, like, is gonna appeal his decision blocking the most recent legislation, which was in opposition probably to what the Supreme Court said a few months ago. So, if you could follow that, you’re better than I am.

Interviewer: Well, how long will this really realistically come out?

Paul: We’ll find out if the…if Letitia Jones’ motion to block what the…

Interviewer: James. Letitia James, yeah.

Paul: James’ motion to block is in fact going to play out. But if not, if she’s successful, then I think there’s actually an appeal process of that. So, we’re talking about several weeks, months, or maybe even years if this is gonna go back to the Supreme Court.

Interviewer: Well, we will continue to follow it, of course.

Paul: We will try.

Interviewer: All right. Thank you so much.

Paul: Thank you.

Woman: For more info covered in our weekly, “What are your Rights?” segments, or to send us a story idea, just head to our website, cbs6albany.com.