A federal judge in Syracuse has taken the first steps to invalidate key parts of the recently-passed Concealed Carry Improvement Act.
In a decision issued Thursday, Federal Judge Glenn T. Suddaby of the Northern District of New York, based in Syracuse, issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the enforcement of certain aspects of the law.
This temporary restraining order comes as multiple groups – including one from New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms and a coalition of 25 churches – sue the state of New York and the various entities enforcing the CCIA, on a whole host of merits.
The New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms lawsuit includes pastors from three local churches: Tim Lindsay of Harvest Christian Fellowship on East Avenue in Albion; Murray Mumau, an elder, from Genesee Country Church on Drake Street Road in Oakfield; and Tony LaBarca of Crossroads Church on Rochester Street in Lima.
Attorney David Sieling of Brenna Boyce, who represents New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms in its lawsuit, called Judge Suddaby’s ruling “a victory for every house of worship in New York,” but that it was “only a first step.”
Rev. Jason J. McGuire, executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms and a plaintiff in the church lawsuit, called the order “a solid first step in the right direction.”
“In time, we expect to see even greater relief from the courts,” said McGuire, a Lima resident. “For now, we are thankful that a court has recognized that church leaders must be free to provide for the safety of their flocks.”
Source: “Federal judge orders pause on parts of New York’s new gun law,” TheLCN.com