New Yorkers do not forfeit their Second Amendment rights simply because they live in public housing, a federal judge has ruled.
The Oct. 22 order from Judge Glenn Suddaby of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York permanently bars the Cortland Housing Authority (CHA) from imposing any kind of firearms ban on its residents.
The CHA, which operates 380 federally subsidized housing units in central New York State, can no longer restrict tenants “from owning, possessing, transporting, or using firearms for lawful purposes,” provided they are law-abiding gun owners. It must also pay $150,000 in legal fees.
Suddaby further found that CHA violated the First Amendment when it censored Facebook posts discussing the firearms ban. He ordered the public service agency to stop censoring or deleting posts and comments on its social media pages….