Today the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that New York’s requirement of stating a “proper cause” when applying for a concealed carry permit was unconstitutionally restrictive. What does that mean? That basically ends states from being a “May Issue” state.
What does “May Issue” mean?
States that May Issue are those that can choose to extend a concealed carry permit to those who have met all of the requirements. These states retain the authority to make a judgment call on a case-by-case basis of awarding permits, even though you may meet all the requirements.
Before this ruling, applicants applying for a New York concealed carry permit had to submit a “proper cause” when applying for a concealed carry permit. Simply living in a bad neighborhood wouldn’t get you a permit.
This is why May Issue states are the hardest to get a concealed carry permit in. There are currently eleven May Issue states left:
- California
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- New York
- Puerto Rico
- Rhode Island (AG Permits Only)
- Virgin Islands
For a complete list of states, visit our Concealed Carry Maps.
We will be keeping our eye on this closely and updating our state concealed carry pages as this law takes effect.
Connecticut is a shall issue state. They don’t ask to show need.