ALBANY, N.Y. — New York will ban people from carrying firearms into many places of business unless the owners put up a sign explicitly saying guns are welcome, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday.

The Democrat said she and legislative leaders have agreed on the broad strokes of a gun control bill that is poised to pass as soon as Thursday, just days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state’s handgun licensing law.

Because of the court’s ruling, ordinary New Yorkers will, for the first time in more than a century, be able to get a license to carry a gun outside the home for personal defense. Previously, it was hard to get an unrestricted handgun license unless you worked in law enforcement or security.

But Hochul said she also wanted to protect the rights of property owners who decide they don’t want firearms on the premises.

Businesses that want guns around would have to put up a sign reading, “Concealed weapons welcome here,” or words to that effect, Hochul said. “Otherwise the presumption will be in the state of New York that they are not.”

“We’re going to protect the rights of private property owners and allow them to not have to be subjected to someone walking into their workplace or a bar or restaurant with a concealed weapon,” Hochul said.

“She’s telling business owners how they need to conduct their business if they want to stay open. These are unconstitutional mandates, and I think it’ll be struck down by the courts,” said Aaron Dorr, the executive director of the New York State Firearms Association.

The push to pass new restrictions follows the Supreme Court’s decision striking down a provision in New York’s licensing law which required people to show an unusual threat to their safety to carry a handgun.

The state is setting new requirements for getting a handgun permit, Hochul said, including mandating 15 hours of in-person fire range training. The legislature will also enact new rules around firearm storage in homes and vehicles, she said.

Hochul and fellow Democrats also plan to create a comprehensive list of “sensitive places” where most  firearms would be banned, including government buildings, hospitals, schools and public transit.

New York will also require background checks for all purchases of ammunition for guns that require a permit, Hochul said.

Legislation in the pipeline in California would also impose further restrictions on concealed-carry permits:

Restricting concealed carry to those 21 and older;
Requiring applicants to disclose all prior arrests, criminal convictions and restraining or protective orders;
Requiring in-person interviews with the applicant and at least three character references; and
Allowing sheriffs and police chiefs to consider applicants’ public statements in weighing whether the individual is dangerous.

The California legislation was advanced Tuesday by the Assembly Public Safety Committee on a 5-2 vote over the objections of gun owners rights advocates who said it goes too far and predicted that it, too, would be ruled unconstitutional.

New York would be the first state to pass a law to allow concealed weapons only in businesses that explicitly allow it, according to David Pucino, deputy chief counsel for Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Related Articles

In many states where carrying guns is common, the onus is usually on businesses to post signs saying firearms aren’t allowed. Some states, including Louisiana and South Carolina, require people to get permission to bring firearms into private dwellings.