A federal appeals court has reopened part of a lawsuit by three New York City handgun owners challenging limits on carrying and purchasing firearms. The decision sends claims over a one-gun carry limit, a 90-day wait between purchases and a two-handgun registration cap back to the lower court; it does not decide whether any of those rules is unconstitutional.
The Second Circuit said the three claims should proceed to the second step of the Bruen framework, which requires the government to show that a challenged rule is “consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.” The panel cautioned that “This is not to conclude that the challenged rules are necessarily unconstitutional,” according to Courthouse News. The case returns to the Southern District of New York for further proceedings.
From Dismissal to a Second Look
Charles Mills, Craig Sotomayor and Bronx resident Braden Holliday filed the lawsuit in 2023, arguing that New York City and state licensing requirements violated their rights. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed the case in December 2024, finding that the administrative regulations did not permanently deprive applicants of the right to own and carry firearms, the same report notes. The plaintiffs appealed, arguing that the waiting period and limit on backup concealed handguns temporarily burdened their right to bear arms.
U.S. Circuit Judge Reena Raggi wrote that the activities at issue warrant an affirmative answer at the first step of the Bruen analysis. Judges Debra Ann Livingston and Michael Park joined the ruling. On remand, the lower court must consider whether the city can establish a historical basis for the three restrictions, rather than dismissing those claims outright.
Fee Challenge Rejected, But Not Everything
The ruling leaves other parts of the case dismissed. The appeals court upheld dismissal of Holliday's challenge to New York City's application and renewal fees, as well as claims dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. It also upheld dismissal of a challenge to state licensing fees, citing Kwong v. Bloomberg, which upheld the constitutionality of those fees. Holliday had argued that the city's $428.50 application and renewal fees “grossly exceed” the $10 statutory cap imposed on every other jurisdiction in the state except Nassau County on Long Island.
Plaintiffs' attorney Amy Bellantoni argued that the city's administrative purchasing constraints burden Second Amendment rights, and said a background check lasting five to fifteen minutes would suffice instead of the current waiting period. She called the ruling an important win for New York City gun owners and said the plaintiffs intend to seek further review of the fee, purchase-authorization and registration rulings that did not go their way.
City Weighs Its Next Move
The city argued that the gun owners lacked standing or that their claims were moot. Its counsel, Jeremy Shweder, also contended that the plaintiffs had merely pointed to a firearm regulation and the Second Amendment to satisfy their initial burden under Bruen's first step. A spokesperson for New York City's Law Department said the agency is evaluating its options following the ruling.
The restrictions challenged in the case stem from an emergency rule the NYPD put in place in August 2024. It capped carry and special-carry licenses at two handguns, allowed only one to be carried at a time, and barred acquiring another firearm within 90 days of a prior purchase. The lawsuit's return to district court puts those limits' historical basis back at issue.
What the City’s Rulemaking Record Shows
NYC’s rulemaking page lists amendments to NYPD firearm-licensing standards as adopted and effective January 5, 2025, a later update to the emergency rulemaking described above, according to NYC Rules. That verified status and date do not, by themselves, establish whether the one-gun carry limit, 90-day purchase interval and two-handgun registration cap remain in the current text.
