N.Y. State Firearms Ass'n v. James

What the court held

Gun owners and an association sought to preliminarily enjoin provisions of New York's Concealed Carry Improvement Act requiring ammunition sellers to run a background check on purchasers, pay a $2.50 fee per check, and register with the State Police. The Second Circuit held the individual plaintiffs had standing but affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction, concluding on this record that the provisions do not meaningfully constrain the ability to keep or bear arms and so do not implicate the Second Amendment's plain text at Bruen's first step. The court expressly disagreed with the Ninth Circuit's contrary treatment of California's ammunition background check regime in Rhode v. Bonta and remanded for further proceedings.

Summarized from the court's opinion.

What this case is about

New York requirement that ammunition sellers run a background check on prospective ammunition purchasers

GunMapUSA summary of the issue, not a quotation from the court.

Key Dates

• 2025-10-15 — Decided
• 2025-03-14 — Argued

Sources

• CourtListener — retrieved 2026-08-08