A Century of Opposition to New York’s Sullivan Law

On June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York’s discretionary carry licensing regime as a violation of the Second Amendment right to bear arms in the NRA-backed case NYSRPA v. Bruen. The law at issue was the modern version New York’s Sullivan Law, which was enacted in 1911. Named for notorious Tammany Hall political boss “Big” Tim Sullivan, the law imbued bribery and favoritism into the licensing process and empowered those with racial, ethnic, or other prejudice to prevent those they disfavor from exercising their Second Amendment rights.