On Monday, Nov 7, 2022, Federal District Court Judge Glenn Suddaby (Northern District, NY) issued his opinion with regard to the preliminary injunction in Antonyuk v. Hochul. You may recall that he had issued a temporary restraining order that was stayed by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. This decision largely follows his decision with regard to the temporary restraining order, holding much of the new concealed carry law unconstitutional.
Of particular interest is a dictum statement (a “side statement” not treated as a ruling) with regard to the time it would take for an application to be processed in Onondaga County (the county in which Syracuse is located). Addressing the issue of whether one of the plaintiffs had standing to challenge the law, Judge Suddaby stated:
Moreover, the Court finds that the fact that Defendants Conway and Doran would not even process an application from Plaintiff Sloane until October 24, 2023, due to a lack of available appointments renders his application futile for the purpose of standing to sue, because such a delay would effectively deny him his Second Amendment right for more than a year. See NYSRPA, 142 S. Ct. at 2138, n.9 (“That said, because any permitting scheme can be put toward abusive ends, we do not rule out constitutional challenges to shall-issue regimes where, for example, lengthy wait times in processing license applications . . . deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry.”)”
I think that foretells that after the dust settles and NYS finally reforms the conceal carry law to be a true “shall issue” law, any attempt by the bureaucrats to effectively deny permits by the excessive delay will be met with further constitutional challenges.
Below is the full decision: