New York Using Unconstitutional Warrantless Searches to Ensure Subway Passengers are Disarmed

Before 2008, when DC v. Heller changed things, it was pretty easy for governments to keep their gun control regimes. Interest balancing, which is basically the government saying, “We think we really, really need to do this. Give us a pass, guys, mkay?” was the norm and upheld by courts across the land.

Even worse, the level of scrutiny applied by the judiciary varied from civil right to civil right, with the Second Amendment being afforded the lowest level of protection. With the individual right to keep and bear arms being all but destroyed by decades of case law, state and local governments often acted with impunity. But beginning with Heller, all of that started to change.

After years of lower courts abusing and ignoring Heller, continuing to do business the old way, the Court ultimately gave them a much stricter standard. NYSRPA v, Bruen ended much of that nonsense, demanding that governments prove that any infringement against the plain meaning of the Second Amendment is something that was common during the founding era.

Sadly, there are still plenty of lawyers out there who think Bruen is merely a suggestion, or that they can somehow get away with ignoring it. Some legislators who really like putting limits on individual rights thought it wouldn’t last, and that the courts would eventually put things back again. So, given the two-tiered treatment it applied to certain civil rights, this statement from the New York Civil Liberties Union wasn’t much of a surprise . . .

Ultimately, though, it didn’t work out that way. Not only has Bruen stuck, but it’s being applied to a growing number of gun control laws that can’t stand up to the Court’s level of applied scrutiny.

As the losses for anti-gun politicians like New York Governor Kathy Hochul have mounted, she’s found herself needing to go beyond violating Second Amendment rights to prevent as many New Yorkers as possible from carrying firearms. As police departments were defunded and prosecutors gave offenders a pass, resulting in more crime and violence, the Governor decided that violating Fourth Amendment rights with warrantless random searches was the next logical step in her disarmament plan.

As for anyone who objected to having their rights violated when they tried to use public transportation, Governor Hochul had some advice: go home.

Gov. Kathy Hochul's (D-NY) response to anyone who doesn't want the National Guard or state police to search their bags on the NYC subways:

"Then go home. We're not going to search you, you can say no, but you're not taking the subway." pic.twitter.com/hJ1fecGdx8

— The Recount (@therecount) March 7, 2024

And now Mayor Eric Adams is upping the unconstitutional ante by using electronic scanners to search for guns and other contraband in the subway system. Electronically rousting subway patrons is now apparently enough to get the attention of not only the NYCLU, but also the New York Legal Aid Society, an organization that defends people who can’t afford lawyers.

“Subjecting New Yorkers to suspicionless searches by police every time they need to ride the subway is a violation of their Fourth Amendment Rights,” Daniel Lambright, Senior Staff Attorney, @NYCLU. 3/5 pic.twitter.com/WwlwWctWt1

— The Legal Aid Society (@LegalAidNYC) July 26, 2024

There seems that no right can be allowed to get in the way of achieving civilian disarmament. The question now is whether there’s a point beyond which New Yorkers won’t allow elected officials to violate their Civil Rights in order to disarm them. And there seems a good chance that the work of those using the Bruen ruling to dismantle unconstitutional gun control regimes is only just getting started.