Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/20-843_7j80.pdf
Page Number: 95.0

12  NEW YORK STATE RIFLE & PISTOL ASSN., INC. v. BRUEN 

BREYER, J., dissenting 

Two years later in 1913, New York amended the law to es-
tablish substantive standards for the issuance of a license. 
See  1913  N. Y.  Laws  ch.  608,  §1,  pp.  1627–1629.    Those 
standards have remained the foundation of New York’s li-
censing  regime  ever  since—a  regime  that  the  Court  now, 
more  than  a  century  later,  strikes  down  as  unconstitu-
tional. 

As it did over 100 years ago, New York’s law today con-
tinues to require individuals to obtain a license before car-
rying a concealed handgun in public.  N. Y. Penal Law Ann. 
§400.00(2);  Kachalsky,  701  F. 3d,  at  85–86.    Because  the 
State does not allow the open carriage of handguns at all, a
concealed-carry  license  is  the  only  way  to  legally  carry  a
handgun in public.  Id., at 86.  This licensing requirement 
applies only to handguns (i.e., “pistols and revolvers”) and
short-barreled rifles and shotguns, not to all types of fire-
arms.  Id., at 85.  For instance, the State does not require a
license to carry a long gun (i.e., a rifle or a shotgun over a 
certain length) in public.  Ibid.; §265.00(3) (West 2022). 

To obtain a concealed-carry license for a handgun, an ap-
plicant  must  satisfy  certain  eligibility  criteria.    Among
other things, he must generally be at least 21 years old and 
of “good moral character.”  §400.00(1).  And he cannot have 
been  convicted  of  a  felony,  dishonorably  discharged  from
the  military,  or  involuntarily  committed  to  a  mental  hy-
giene  facility.  Ibid.  If  these  and  other  eligibility  criteria 
are satisfied, New York law provides that a concealed-carry
license “shall be issued” to individuals working in certain
professions, such as judges, corrections officers, or messen-
gers  of  a  “banking  institution  or  express  company.” 
§400.00(2).  Individuals who satisfy the eligibility criteria
but do not work in one of these professions may still obtain 
a concealed-carry license, but they must additionally show
that  “proper  cause  exists  for  the  issuance  thereof.” 
§400.00(2)(f ). 

The words “proper cause” may appear on their face to be