(The Center Square) — A federal judge has ruled that a constitutional challenge to New York state’s ban on selling bulletproof vests to civilians can move forward.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge John Sinatra Jr. rejected a motion from state Attorney General Letitia James and other New York officials to dismiss a challenge, ruling the plaintiffs have standing to sue the state over the restrictions.
“Here, plaintiffs have demonstrated an injury in fact,” Sinatra wrote in the 19-page ruling. “They allege an intention to engage in a course of conduct arguably protected by the Second Amendment but proscribed by New York law.”
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Buffalo by the Firearms Policy Coalition, alleges that the restrictions on civilian use of body armor violates the Second Amendment rights of several defendants, whom the group is representing in the latest legal challenge to New York’s strict firearm laws.
The plaintiffs, which include several New Yorkers who want to purchase body armor, argue in court filings that they have a “fundamental, constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, including body armor,” and that New York’s ban is unconstitutional. They are also seeking a permanent injunction to block the enforcement of the ban.
New York lawmakers approved the body armor ban as part of a package of gun control measures pushed through the Democratic-controlled Legislature following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2022 that overturned the state’s open carry restrictions.
The body armor restrictions cover “any product that is a personal protective body covering intended to protect against gunfire, regardless of whether such product is to be worn alone or is sold as a complement to another product or garment.” It doesn’t apply to law enforcement officials and ‘grandfathered’ in people who purchased body armor before the restrictions going into effect.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs argue there is a “deeply rooted tradition of keeping and wearing armor in America” and that the lack of “historical restrictions” speaks to a right to possess and wear body armor for self-defense.
Overall, New York state has some of the toughest restrictions on firearms in the nation, which makes it a frequent target for lawsuits filed by Second Amendment groups who argue the restrictions are unnecessary and deprive lawful gun owners of their constitutional rights.
A law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in July 2022 seeking to close “loopholes” in private gun sales tightened firearm licensing and sales rules to make it harder to purchase a gun. It also defined private properties as “restricted” areas where carrying a gun is illegal.
Brandon Combs, the FPC’s president, said the law makes it “a crime to buy and use simple personal protective equipment” and that the lawsuit is aimed at “teaching New York another lesson about constitutionally protected rights.”
