A federal judge Thursday denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit over New York's ban on assault weapons, allowing the case, filed by two people supported by gun rights advocacy groups, to proceed.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas denied the motion, sought by New York against the case, in which the people suing said the state's ban infringes on "the right of law-abiding, peaceable citizens to keep and bear commonly possessed firearms for defense of self and family and for other lawful purposes," The Hill reported.
New York officials argued in their motion, filed last May, that the court did not have the jurisdiction needed to address the plaintiff's claims, as they didn't say they held a license needed to purchase a semiautomatic weapon or that they "suffered an injury-in-fact."
"While there may be serious questions about Plaintiffs' exemption argument, the Court need not address that question here because Plaintiffs adequately allege standing under Defendants' interpretation of the statute," Karas said."Put simply, Defendants have failed to explain how invalidating the Assault Weapons Ban would have no effect on the ability to obtain licenses for those same weapons."
Karas added that the state officials "demonstrated that they face a credible threat of enforcement if they follow through with attempting to acquire assault weapons."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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