New York gun advocates ask appeals court to end background checks for ammo purchases

MANHATTAN (CN) — A New York law that requires criminal background checks on people trying to buy ammunition is unconstitutional, according to gun rights advocates who on Friday asked the Second Circuit for another shot at blocking its enforcement.

“It is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment to impose a system of background checks for every purchase of ammunition by every New Yorker every time they go into a gun shop,” Stephen Klein, an attorney for the gun rights advocates, said before a three-judge appellate panel.

The Concealed Carry Improvement Act was passed in 2022, just a week after the Supreme Court’s landmark Second Amendment ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen , and went into effect in September 2023. The New York State Firearms Association challenged the provision the same month, but a lower rejected its request for a preliminary injunction.

Klein told the appeals court that the background check system impedes ammunition sales with “frequent delays, outages and other malfunctions.” The advocates say members have complained they weren’t even able to go through a background check because the system was down.

“Even the law itself is supposed to provide for the purchase of ammunition when the system is down,” Klein said. “And those regulations, to my knowledge, have not even been proposed as of yet.”

Klein’s also argued that the background check rule is humiliating to gun purchasers whose “law-abiding nature is being questioned.” But U.S. Circuit Judge William J. Nardini didn’t seem convinced.

“How is it a humiliation?” Nardini asked. “That’s humiliating, to be told you’re not a felon? I’m really not following the humiliation angle.”

While the attorney didn’t answer the question directly, he maintained that the requirement was a burden for ammunition purchasers.

Beezly Kiernan, an attorney with the New York’s Attorney’s General Office, argued in support of the law.

“Bruen itself approved of background checks, noting that they are designed to ensure only that those keeping and bearing arms are, in fact, law abiding, responsible citizens,” Kiernan said.

He added that the advocates had failed to introduce ample evidence that the background checks create lengthy wait times.

U.S. Circuit Judge Joseph F. Bianco pointed out that there’s no evidence the background checks are instantaneous, either. “There’s nothing in the record about the length of time it would take to run this check on a computer system.”

Kiernan argued the possibility of a technical lag wasn’t enough for the plaintiffs to win a preliminary injunction.

“The burden of each individual background check is so minimal here — it’s not even requiring that a purchaser make an oath or make any sort of declaration,” Kiernan said. “It really happens on the back end, it’s a background check requirement on the seller, who just confirms the purchase.”

U.S. Circuit Judge Michael H. Park also participated in the panel. All three judges were nominated by President Donald Trump.

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