It did. That’s exactly what happened in a case brought by Carl Higbee and gun owners of America. And today we’re breaking down what the court said, why it matters, and what it could mean for the future of the Second Amendment nationwide. What’s going on everybody? My name is Jared here with Guns N’ Gadgets, your premier source for Second Amendment news that you won’t hear anywhere else. And if you’re new here, make sure you hit that subscribe button and turn on the bell so that you don’t miss important updates like this one. If you’re on your mobile device, that bell notification is under your settings tab on YouTube.

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Head over to blackoutcoffee.com slash gng and use code gng10 for 10% off your entire order. Blackout Coffee, wake up like a Patriot. Alright, back in February of 2024, three plaintiffs, Carl Higbee from Connecticut, Joseph Harris and Michael Votruba from Massachusetts, along with gun owners of America, filed suit against New York’s licensing regime. Their argument? Well, New York’s residency requirement for carry permits violated the Second Amendment and the privileges and immunities clause of the Constitution, and even the full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution. See, these men all have unrestricted carry licenses in their home states and multiple other states recognize those permits.

But the second they cross into New York, they cross that imaginary line on a map, they’re barred from having their rights. They’re barred from carrying simply because they don’t live or work in the Empire State. Now, unlike most of the country, New York does not honor out-of-state permits and it flat-out denies applications from non-residents in most counties. So they sued several defendants. They sued the superintendent of the New York State Police, Stephen James, and two county sheriffs, one from Rensselaer and one from Columbia County. Why those sheriffs? Because that’s where the plaintiffs travel and they were directly told they couldn’t even apply there.

So they filed for summary judgment and the state filed a cross motion. That’s what landed us in front of Judge May D. Agostino in the Northern District of New York. Now, the case boiled down to three major constitutional fights that I want to tell you about. Number one, standing. Could the plaintiffs even sue the superintendent of state police? Two, mootness. Was Higbee’s claim still live since he eventually did get a New York City concealed carry license in 25? And then three, the merits of the case. Is New York’s non-resident ban actually constitutional under the Second Amendment? And let me tell you, this judge hit a home run.

First, the court said that Superintendent James wasn’t the right guy to sue. Why? Because he doesn’t actually control whether counties accept or deny license applications. Each county licensing officer does that. The separate superintendent of the state police only handles licenses for retired state police troopers. So the judge dismissed the claims against him. That’s a big deal because it shows how New York insulates itself. You can’t just sue the state police chief. You got to go after your local licensing officials one by one. New York. Always thinking outside the box. Now, next, the court looked at Carl Higbee himself.

Now, like I said, he did eventually get a New York City concealed carry license after the city temporarily allowed non-residents to apply. And because of that, the judge said that his personal as-applied challenge is now moot, meaning it doesn’t work here. He’s already got the license. But his facial challenge, arguing the whole law is unconstitutional on its face, still stands. And that was big. Now, here’s where it gets important. The plaintiffs argue that New York’s law flat out denies non-residents the ability to apply, making the right to bear arms impossible when they travel through or visit the state.

The court noted that while some counties like in New York City and a few others do accept non-resident applications, many counties like Columbia and Rensselaer outright refused to. Now, that inconsistency itself is evidence of a constitutional problem. And the judge emphasized that Americans do not need to go through empty formalities just to preserve their rights. The Supreme Court already made clear in Bruin and in later cases that the Second Amendment is not a second class right. You don’t have to waste time applying for a license. You know you can’t get just to have standing in court.

And this was huge. The judge was pretty solid on this. So what does the ruling actually do? The court granted parts of the summary judgment for the plaintiffs and denied parts for the state. The key takeaway is this. New York’s practice of denying non-resident carry license applications is unconstitutional. This could pave the way for appeals, maybe even up to the Second Circuit or the Supreme Court, to force New York and potentially other states to allow non-residents to exercise their rights. So we’ll see what New York decides to do here. But this is huge because if New York and California, because we just had that big win in California doing the same thing, forcing the state to accept non-resident applications, if New York and California can be forced to accept non-resident applications, it could start chipping away at the anti-reciprocity stance many blue states take.

It could also open the door for arguments that carry permits should be recognized across state lines, much like driver’s licenses are. This case could be one of the huge stepping stones toward true national reciprocity. It’s not constitutional carry, it’s not permitless carry, but it’s something gun owners have been fighting for for decades. Instead of buying 25 different permits so that you can have all kinds of reciprocity for your travels, you could just have yours from your state. Now, I always get questions about Trump’s promise that he said that he’ll sign a reciprocity bill should it get to his desk.

And I’ll say it here so that people understand that’s not going to happen. Yeah, Trump said he’ll sign it if it gets to his desk, but getting to his desk is a different bird altogether. A bill, as you should know, has to pass the House, then it has to pass the Senate, and then it goes to the President. In order to pass the Senate, you have to have 60 votes for a bill, 60 votes for us to say yes for the bill to pass. You’re not going to get that. I mean, that’s just to get it out of filibuster.

And that’s not happening. The Democrats will never, ever say, yeah, we should recognize that right. So as of right now, unless people like go crazy with voting for pro 2A candidates, that’s dead. But the fact that Carl Higbee and other plaintiffs got this win is a big deal, and it shows the courts that they’re finally wrestling with the unconstitutionality of states like New York, shutting out any other American that doesn’t live in New York, and taking away their rights because of that imaginary dotted line on a map. And what do you think? Should states be forced to recognize permits from other states, or at least allow non-residents to apply? Drop your thoughts in the comments below, and I’ll say it again.

I personally believe that the whole permitting scheme is unconstitutional as well, doesn’t stand up to the Bruin test. Sound off on that too. Do you think that permits are constitutional? Don’t forget to hit the like button and share the video with your friends, and subscribe to Guns and Gadgets. This is your premier source for Second Amendment News. Stay tuned, because I’ll keep you updated every step of the way. Have a great day, America. Take care. [tr:trw].

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