Last week, the New York City police department implemented an emergency rule that allows nonresidents to apply for concealed carry, citing compliance with a recent Supreme Court decision.

The law in New York was a century old and required those applying for a concealed carry license in the state to prove “proper cause” to be allowed to get the license.

“Delaying implementation of these additional rules would severely impede New York City’s ability to effectively and legally regulate handgun ownership within its jurisdiction,” the adoption notice read.

“The emergency rule sets forth standards to submit and evaluate applications for carry license made by [nonresidents],” the notice said.

“In order to maintain a clear and publicly accessible policy, New York City must immediately implement an operative concealed carry licensing process for non-resident applicants,” said the NYPD notice.

In addition, a change was made to the permit application, removing a requirement for gun owners to submit social media accounts for government inspection.

Nonresidents can now apply for a permit even if they have no connections to the city. Applicants may not have been convicted of assault in the third degree, menacing or misdemeanor DWI within five years of application. Nonresidents also need to complete 18 hours of training to receive the permit.

“Those who hold out-of-state driver’s licenses may drive in New York, but the exercising of one’s constitutional right to bear arms in New York State is wholly inaccessible to the 94% of Americans who are not New York State residents,” said a GOA press release from February. “New York is one of a very few states where nonresidents are not allowed to exercise their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.”

“HUGE GUN NEWS! New York City Police Department just enacted an emergency rule to allow non-residents to apply for NEW YORK CITY concealed carry permits! GOF recently filed a lawsuit against upstate New York seeking non-resident permits,” wrote GOF on X.

“MAJOR WIN: The Second Amendment says ‘shall not be infringed’ not ‘please submit all social media accounts when asking permission to bear arms,’” said GOA in an August 9 X post.

New York’s state governor, Kathy Hochul, said: “Today, the Supreme Court is sending us backward in our efforts to protect families, to prevent gun violence. This could place millions of New Yorkers in harm’s way.”

Brooklyn district attorney, Eric Gonzalez, said: “70% of the guns recovered in Brooklyn after crime basically come from three or four Southern states. I really hope that the Supreme Court understands that states have to be able to regulate this in their own jurisdictions. If we continue to just say ‘yes, anyone can carry’, we’re going to see an uptick.”

“[It’s] great news for the untold millions of Americans who either work or visit New York every year,” Pratt said. “It’s critical that everyone can exercise their inherent right to self-defense, but until now, anti-gunners in New York denied most Americans that basic right.”

“I just feel also that there’s a correlation between stupid people and guns. Safety, safety, safety, you can’t sink it in enough with these people. You can’t,” said gun dealer John DeLoca. He said he was in favor of the heavy safeguards that come with the issuance of a concealed carry permit.

He also warned NYPD that if permits were not handed out to his satisfaction he would “gladly” file another lawsuit with the NYPD and Mayor Eric Adams as defendants.

James argued that it was essential for the Supreme Court to uphold federal laws that prevent individuals from transporting or receiving out-of-state firearms from anyone other than a federally licensed dealer. James is railing against the Supreme Court with the support of 22 other attorneys general across the country.

These guns are illegally trafficked across state lines. James said that while regulations may vary across states, the attorneys general “all share the firm conviction that the Constitution allows States to act to prevent gun violence in a manner that is adapted to the individual States’ needs.”

The attorneys general in the brief were from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

Perez was convicted for illegally purchasing weapons from a dealer in South Carolina, who transported the guns to him in New York City. Perez is appealing his conviction from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Perez argues that this conviction violates his Second Amendment rights.

They argue the laws do “not implicate the Second Amendment because they do not prevent a law-abiding citizen from purchasing, owning, or carrying a firearm.” The coalition says it supports state licensing regimes through lawful transactions rather than purchases from the black market.

“We believe that this still infringes upon our rights, and that we should not be required to request permission to obtain new firearms,” said an organization statement. “Even less so beg them to allow us to add them to our permits. This changes nothing in regards to our lawsuit and we will still seek a judicial declaration that their actions are unconstitutional.”

Sam Paredes, a spokesman for the board of the GOF, said: “This is the only example nationwide where an out-of-state resident is completely barred from exercising their right to keep and bear arms, and there’s no doubt the anti-gun legislature in Albany purposely designed it this way. We’ve warned these politicians before, and we’ll do it again. Fall in line with the Second Amendment, or we will make you.”

Michael Schiavone, a New York resident with a permit, said: “Stupider just gets stupider. There’s tons of guns on the street. We are faced with people having illegal firearms, and they are all over the place. So that puts the citizens in a very bad situation. Especially in the subway system, in those areas where someone might want to take a firearm, we now cannot do that.”

However, the coalition of attorneys general headed by Letitia James has only just started its protest against the Supreme Court’s decision. The state of gun ownership in New York is about to become a new legal battleground.