SCOTUS denies challenge to New York state gun restrictions

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case challenging a New York state gun law. The nation’s highest court will leave in place an October ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That ruling upheld most of the law’s provisions, including a ban on carrying concealed firearms in locations like churches, parks, and entertainment venues. The law also requires that to obtain a concealed carry license, gun owners must demonstrate good moral character, including an absence of certain convictions or mental health incidents. However, another portion of the law that would have required concealed carry applicants to share their social media information remains blocked.

What other noteworthy decisions did the Supreme Court recently make? The court on Friday allowed the Trump administration to at least temporarily freeze up to $65 million in teacher training grants. The Trump administration said the grants were for programs promoting an agenda of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, that it doesn’t want to fund, The Washington Post reported. The Supreme Court granted the government’s emergency petition to block a lower court’s temporary restraining order, which said the grants could not be terminated. The Supreme Court’s order remains in effect until a lower appeals court decides on the case.

Court documents indicate that Chief Justice John Roberts would have denied the temporary stay. Liberal justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote separate dissenting opinions disagreeing with the decision, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined Jackson’s dissenting opinion.

Dig deeper: Read my report on the Supreme Court’s recent decision to leave in place Biden-era rules about ghost guns.