Statement From Speaker Silver Re U.S. Supreme
Court Ruling In District Of Columbia V. Heller

The Supreme Court's ruling today in District of Columbia v. Heller will not deter the Assembly in its continued efforts to balance the rights of New Yorkers under the Second Amendment with our moral and constitutional obligation to protect children and all New Yorkers from the scourge of gun violence.

While the decision does not affect New York State's existing gun laws, it does strike down the District of Columbia's common-sense requirement that guns be made inoperable while kept in the home - a measure clearly intended to protect children and families.

The Assembly will continue to take the lead in pressing for meaningful, common-sense regulation of guns, so that we may never again hear the story of a child accidentally shot because a gun was not safely locked away or disabled.