“Ample Supreme Court precedent addressing the individual’s right to keep and bear arms—from Heller and McDonald to its June 22 decision in Bruen—dictates that New York’s place of worship restriction is equally unconstitutional,” wrote District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.

The order is effective immediately and prohibits enforcement of this provision.

“We’re delighted with the quick action by Judge Sinatra,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We believe this law to be wholly in violation of not only the letter but the spirit of the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.” Read more

Plaintiffs in the case are Benjamin Schoenthal, Mark Wroblewski, Joseph Vesel and Douglas Winston. They are all residents of counties in northern Illinois in the greater Chicago area. They are represented by attorney David Sigale of Wheaton, Ill. The case is known as Schoenthal v. Raoul.

Defendants are Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and State’s Attorneys Rick Amato (DeKalb County), Robert Berlin (DuPage County), Kimberly M. Foxx (Cook County) and Eric Rinehart (Lake County), all in their official capacities.

“We’re financially supporting this case because it is the right thing to do,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “All four plaintiffs in this case are law-abiding citizens who cannot exercise their fundamental rights as spelled out by three Supreme Court rulings, including SAF’s 2010 McDonald victory that nullified Chicago’s unconstitutional handgun ban. Read more

“A law found to be unconstitutional,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “was unconstitutional all along. Crime victims who were deprived of their most important right of self-defense under color of law deserve reparations. The state should compensate them, or their surviving families.”

Since the unconstitutional requirement was in place for a century, Gottlieb said, the state should apologize to all the people who were arbitrarily denied their right to bear arms, even if that apology is posthumous.

“Instead of scrambling to perpetuate a philosophy of citizen disarmament,” he contended, “New York officials should beg forgiveness from gun owners, especially those who were victims of violent crimes because they were prevented from being armed to defend themselves. There can never be enough compensation to surviving families who lost a loved one, even if it happened decades ago.

“Instead of complying not only with the letter but the spirit of the high court’s ruling, New York residents are now being told they must disarm if their homes or businesses have been recently placed inside the boundaries of a newly-created ‘sensitive area’ like the heart of New York city,” Gottlieb said. “Empire State anti-gunners are a disgusting crowd who are determined to prevent as many people as possible from being armed and able to defend their homes, businesses and lives.

“It’s time for New York officials from Gov. Kathy Hochul on down to the lowest level bureaucrat to understand they are public servants, and their constituents are citizens, not subjects,” Gottlieb observed. “If they cannot abide by, and operate within the limitations of the constitution, they should tender their resignations and find jobs outside of government.”

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.

Contact: Alan Gottlieb (425) 454-4911