ALBANY — A federal judge has tossed a lawsuit against Gov. Cuomo over his decision to shutter gun stores during the coronavirus pandemic.
A pair of Long Island men looking to purchase guns back in March along with a Suffolk County-based retailer sued the governor over his executive order that deemed firearms retailers non-essential.
The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of New York, claimed Cuomo’s actions infringed on the pair’s rights as well as those of gun sellers across the state.
“To be blunt, a bloodless coup against the Constitution has been undertaken by the State itself,” the suit alleged.
New York shuttered most businesses back in March as the state became the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. Only “essential” stores, such as pharmacies and groceries stores, remained open.
Dark Storm Industries, which operates an Oakdale store that sells guns and ammo, argued that Cuomo had no authority to close businesses.
Senior U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn disagreed and said he was in no position to undermine the state’s actions during the crisis.
“In the face of a global pandemic, the Court is loath to second guess those policy decisions,” he wrote in his decision.
Kahn cited a series of Supreme Court decisions granting state governments broad authority to take actions to protect public health during a pandemic and said those looking to arm themselves had other options.
He determined that “the evidence in the record indicates that, even during the height of the lockdown, New Yorkers continued to enjoy access to numerous retailers where they could purchase firearms.”
The state has faced several similar lawsuits including one filed by the NRA in April.
“We’ve lost track of the frivolous lawsuits filed against us during this pandemic,” senior Cuomo adviser Rich Azzopardi said.
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