NY's legislature approves handgun licensing rule overhaul

New York’s legislature has approved a sweeping overhaul Friday of the state’s handgun licensing rules, seeking to preserve some limits on firearms after the Supreme Court ruled that most people have a right to carry a handgun for personal protection.

The bill, which Gov. Kathy Hochul said she intended to sign, is almost sure to draw more legal challenges from gun-rights advocates who say the state is still putting too many restrictions on who can get a gun and where they can carry it.

Backers said the new law strikes the right balance between complying with the Supreme Court’s ruling and keeping weapons out of the hands of people likely to use them recklessly or with criminal intent.

Among other things, the state’s new rules will require people applying for a handgun license to turn over a list of their social media accounts so officials could verify their “character and conduct.”

Under the law, applicants would have to show they have “the essential character, temperament and judgment necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only in a manner that does not endanger oneself and others.”

As part of that assessment of good character, applicants have to turn over a list of any social media accounts they have had in the past three years “to confirm the information regarding the applicant’s character and conduct.”

“Sometimes, they’re telegraphing their intent to cause harm to others,” Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said at a news conference.

Gun rights advocates and Republican leaders were incensed, saying the measure intrudes on constitutional rights.

The bill didn’t specify whether applicants would be required to provide licensing officers with access to private social media accounts not visible to the general public.

People applying for a license to carry a handgun would also have to provide four character references, take 16 hours of firearms safety training plus two hours of practice at a range, undergo periodic background checks and turn over the contact information of their spouse, domestic partner or any other adults living in their household.