Senator James Sanders Jr. and the Senate Majority Take Action to Address Supreme Court Rulings on Concealed Carry & Roe v. Wade

State Senator James Sanders Jr. has been hard at work in Albany working alongside his legislative colleagues to try to reverse the damage, at least in New York State, that will be caused by the Supreme Court’s recent rulings which make it easier to carry concealed weapons and illegal to have an abortion.
 
Although the regular legislative session concluded at the beginning of June, the governor issued a proclamation calling for an extraordinary session, which began on June 30 and carried over into July 1, 2022. Members voted on expanding gun application requirements to improve safety as well as on an equality amendment to enshrine the right to abortion access in the state constitution.
 
“Today, we issued our own one-two punch to the Supreme Court whose conservative, right-wing majority has threated our health and safety,” Senator Sanders said. “We are going to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and we are going to help women maintain the right to make their own choices regarding their reproductive health.”
 
This gun legislative package enhances licensing requirements for concealed carry permit applicants, adds new provisions for sensitive areas where the permit holder is prohibited from carrying a concealed firearm, enhances safe storage requirements to apply if a minor under the age of 18 lives in the home, and makes technical changes to the Body Armor Law. Additionally, this legislative package establishes New York as a “point of contact” state.
 
Senator Sanders and the New York State Senate Majority also advanced the first passage of an amendment to codify the right to an abortion and the right to contraception in the State Constitution. This amendment would also update the existing Equal Rights Amendment to extend current protections to several new classes, including on the basis of sex, disability, national origin, ethnicity, and age.