The plaintiffs in Christian v. James filed a petition for a writ of certiorari on September 16, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review New York's ban on firearm possession in public parks. Brett Christian, Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation are the petitioners. New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James and Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane are named in their official capacities as respondents. The filing does not suspend the ban or overturn the decision below.

What the petition asks

The petition presents three questions. First, it asks whether New York's public-park ban violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. Second, it challenges the Second Circuit's rejection of a statewide facial challenge after that court concluded history could support firearm restrictions in urban parks. Third, it asks whether courts may rely on firearm laws from the latter half of the 19th century to establish a regulatory tradition when the record lacks comparable Founding-era support. These are the petitioners' questions, not holdings the Supreme Court has accepted or answered.

The challenged provision is New York Penal Law Section 265.01-e(2)(d), part of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act enacted after New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. According to the petition, the law prohibits even otherwise licensed people from carrying firearms in public parks. The filing describes the coverage as extending from Central Park and Buffalo bike trails to remote state forests and recreational areas. It also identifies exceptions for privately held land inside a public park and land meeting New York's statutory definition of a forest preserve. The case now before the Court concerns the park provision, not every location restriction in the CCIA.