A US appeals court on Friday refused to enjoin several restrictions on firearms in New York, including bans on carrying firearms in Times Square and on public transportation, as well as carrying a firearm visibly—a practice known as open carry.

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the restrictions on carrying firearms in public spaces are consistent with the history and tradition of firearms laws in the US.  The restriction on open carry is legal because the US Supreme Court has held that a state can restrict either open or concealed carry as long as the other option is available to citizens.

In 2021’s NY State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, the US Supreme Court struck down a New York state requirement for concealed carry applicants to show “proper cause” for carrying a firearm in public. The court deemed this requirement a violation of the Second Amendment.  The state responded with the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA), which removed the proper cause requirement but added multiple new provisions, including a ban on carrying guns in “sensitive” public locations, among them Times Square and public transportation.  The ban does not have an exception for concealed carry permit holders.

The appeals court wrote: “Plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed on the merits because…each of the challenged provisions falls within our Nation’s historical tradition of gun regulations and, thus, does not violate the Second Amendment.”

In New York State, gun laws are administered by cities and counties, which are free to impose additional restrictions beyond those found in state law. New York City requires its own firearms permit, and the CCIA did not modify this provision.