Judge issues temporary restraining order targeting New York gun control law

Oct. 21—BUFFALO — A U.S. District Court judge in Buffalo has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) sought by a Niagara Falls pastor and others, that blocks the enforcement of a provision in New York's new Concealed Carry Improvement Act.

The provision bars individuals from bringing firearms into places of worship.

Judge John Sinatra issued the TRO in a 40-page decision and order, released just hours after oral arguments on Thursday afternoon. At the close of those arguments, Sinatra told the attorneys that he would haver a decision "soon."

It's not clear whether Sinatra had prepared a draft opinion prior to the oral arguments in order to issue his decision so quickly.

In his order, Sinatra wrote that the state of New York had responded to a U.S. Supreme Court decision, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v Bruen, by enacting "even more restrictive legislation" then what the high court had declared unconstitutional.

"Ample Supreme Court precedent addressing the individual's right to keep and bear arms — from Heller and McDonald to its June 2022 decision in Bruen — dictates that New York's new place of worship restriction is equally unconstitutional," Sinatra wrote.

Falls Pastor Jimmie Hardaway Jr. of Trinity Baptist Church, 1366 South Ave., along with Rev. Larry Boyd, of Open Praise Full Gospel Baptist Church on Fillmore Avenue in Buffalo, and two pro-gun groups, Firearms Policy Coalition, of La Vegas, Nevada and Second Amendment Foundation, of Bellevue, Washington had sought the temporary restraining order to block enforcement of the places of worship restriction while the court weighed the overall constitutionality of the place of worship restrictions and the CCIA.

Despite scheduling additional filings and orals arguments in the case, Sinatra's decision and order appears to telegraph that the judge will ultimately find the CCIA unconstitutional in its entirety.

"In Bruen, the (Supreme Court) made the Second Amendment test crystal clear: regulation in this area is permissible only if the government demonstrates that the regulation is consistent with the Nation's historical tradition," Sinatra wrote. "New York fails that test. The State's exclusion is, instead, inconsistent with the Nation's historical traditions."

During an hour of oral argument Thursday afternoon, Sinatra appeared dismissive and openly hostile to the arguments made by Assistant New York Attorney General Ryan Belka.

At one point during the arguments Sinatra suggested that the place of worship restriction would not keep "a bad person with a gun" from violating the law and harming worshippers. When Belka appeared to shake his head at that suggestion, Sinatra said sharply, "Do you find that funny?"

Belka replied that he felt Sinatra's suggestion that "bad people might violate (the CCIA)" was not a valid reason to strike it down.

New York Attorney General Letitia James had sought to remove Sinatra from the case. She filed a motion Wednesday evening asking that the judge, who is also overseeing two other constitutional challenges to the CCIA, be reassigned

In her motion, James charged that Hardaway and the other plaintiffs in the case were seeking a tactical advantage, sometimes called "judge shopping", by having the case directed to Sinatra, an appointee of former President Donald Trump.

Prior to the oral arguments in the case, Sinatra refused the request to have the case reassigned, calling the other CCIA lawsuits "related" and saying that keeping all the cases before him "would avoid unnecessary duplication of judicial effort."

Hardaway, Boyd and the pro-gun groups brought their civil suit and request for a TRO against Interim New York State Police Superintendent Steven Nigrelli, Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman and Erie County DA John Flynn.

Sinatra said his ruling applies only to Hardaway and Boyd, citing precedent in the federal judicial circuit that includes New York, that has found that organizations do not have standing to sue in maters like this because they suffer no clear harm.

Hardaway and Boyd, however, argued that they would suffer irreparable harm if the places of worship restriction was not blocked.

"Prior to the enactment and enforcement of the Place of Worship Ban, I would consistently carry a firearm on Trinity Baptist Church's premises," said Hardaway, who is licensed to carry a handgun in New York.

Hardaway says his church has an "open-door policy" that carries risk over "who will walk in the door for services." The pastor also claims that the "horrific murders", in 2015, of nine parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina has stiffened his resolve to "carry for self-defense and to keep the peace at Trinity Baptist stronger."

He said that he is "suffering diminished personal safety every time I go to church."

Sinatra, in his decision, wrote that granting the retraining order returned the status quo of "the Constitution and the Bill of Rights" and that if the CCIA were found constitutional, after a trial before him, "the Court could vacate any injunctive relief" and allow enforcement of the places of worship ban.

That finding would appear to be at odds with Sinatra's initial determination that the CCIA is unconstitutional. Sinatra also asserts in his decision that "plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their Second and Fourteenth Amendment claim."

Sinatra spends close to 24 pages of his decision analyzing the Supreme Courts most recent major gun rights decisions before concluding that without "a TRO, plaintiff's constitutional rights are being violated."

"They are forced to give up their rights to armed self-defense outside the home, being left to the mercy of opportunistic, lawless individuals who might prey on them and have no concern about the place of worship exclusion," Sinatra wrote, while extensively quoting U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, making a similar argument in a footnote.

Sinatra also argued that block the place of worship restriction would "serve the public interest of fostering self-defense at places of worship across the state."

In ordering the TRO, Sinatra also denied a request by Belka that it only apply to Hardaway and Boyd's churches. The judge called the request "untenable."

"Either the exclusion applies or it does not," Sinatra wrote in a footnote,

Niagara County Attorney Claude Joerg, representing Seaman in the proceedings, offered no comment on Sinatra's ruling. Joerg previously submitted an affidavit to the judge claiming the DA "does not oppose entry" of an injunction, "for the purpose of furthering a judicial determination as to the constitutionality" of the CCIA.

"As of the date of this affidavit, neither any of the assistant district attorneys working in the Niagara County District Attorney's Office nor District Attorney Seaman have had any occasion to enforce (CCIA)," Joerg said. "I am also aware that the Niagara County Legislature passed a resolution on Sept. 13, 2022 in opposition to the actions taken by the State of New York restricting Second Amendment rights."