Pro-gun groups sue New York governor

State crackdown on weapons called unconstitutional

NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was sued by gun advocacy groups who claim new state laws regulating the sale and possession of firearms and ammunition are unconstitutional.

Organizations led by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association are seeking to enjoin the law to “vindicate the right of the people of the state of New York to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” according to a complaint filed Thursday in federal court in Buffalo.

The lawsuit came as a federal court in Virginia upheld Maryland’s limits on seeking a permit to carry a gun outside the home. That law, requiring a person who wants such a permit to show “good and substantial reason,” was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond. The court held that the statute was a constitutional public-safety measure.

In Washington, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he is preparing federal gun legislation for next month. The measure will be a narrower version of laws meant to curb gun violence approved by the judiciary committee. The bill will include federal aid for school safety, stronger penalties for gun trafficking and broader background checks for purchases, Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said in a statement Thursday.

Following the school massacre last year in Newtown, Conn., New York’s Cuomo pushed his state’s law through the legislature in weeks, making it the first state to respond to the killings. The measure tightens restrictions on sales and closes gaps in a 2000 ban on assault weapons.

“The act creates new offences with criminal penalties for previously lawful activities involving the acquisition and possession of rifles, handguns, shotguns, ammunition magazines and ammunition,” the groups challenging the law said. “The act severely and adversely affects plaintiffs and millions of other law-abiding gun owners in New York.”