Petition asks Court to resolve major Second Amendment splits over facial challenges and whether 1791 or later history controls
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 16, 2026) — Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced today that it filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court in Christian v. James, asking the Court to strike down New York’s sweeping ban on peaceable firearm carry in public parks and resolve major conflicts among lower courts over how the Second Amendment must be applied.
New York criminalizes firearm possession in public parks across the State, from major urban parks to bike trails, wooded recreation areas, and remote state forests. FPC’s petition argues that there is no Founding-era historical tradition supporting such a categorical prohibition.
“The Second Amendment protects the People’s right to bear arms in public, period,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “Governments can’t turn public parks into a Constitution-free zone. We already defeated New York’s ‘vampire rule’ in this case. Now we are asking the Supreme Court to eliminate another one of the State’s sweeping carry bans.”
The questions raised by the petitioners have divided courts across the country. The Second, Fourth, and Ninth Circuits have taken an approach to facial Second Amendment challenges that FPC argues can insulate sweeping gun bans from meaningful review, while other courts have focused on the rule the government actually enacted. And the circuits are also divided over whether the meaning of the right is controlled by the Founding-era understanding or may instead be shaped by much later nineteenth-century regulations.
In Christian, the Second Circuit upheld New York’s entire parks ban because it concluded that history could support restrictions in urban parks, even while acknowledging doubt about whether there was historical support for banning firearms in wilderness parks, forests, and reserves. FPC’s petition argues that New York enacted a ban on firearms in parks, not merely urban parks, and must defend the law it actually enacted.
The Second Circuit also relied on regulations beginning in the latter half of the nineteenth century while discounting the absence of Founding-era restrictions on carry in public parks. Judge Steven Menashi dissented, explaining that Founding-era regulations addressed misuse and manner of carry but did not categorically prohibit carriage in public parks or other places used for recreation and public gathering.
“This case is much bigger than parks. Lower courts are openly divided over whether governments can save unconstitutional gun bans by pointing to some narrower hypothetical application, and whether judges can use later restrictions to override the Founding-era meaning of the Second Amendment. The Constitution has one meaning, and the Second Amendment has the same meaning everywhere in America. We are asking the Supreme Court to resolve these conflicts, enforce its precedents, and make clear that lower courts cannot rewrite the Constitution. We and our FPC Grassroots Army will continue to Fight Forward until these unconstitutional carry bans are eliminated throughout the United States,” Combs concluded.
The petition for writ of certiorari and other case documents in Christian v. James can be viewed at firearmspolicy.org/boron. FPC is joined in the case by FPC member Brett Christian and the Second Amendment Foundation.
Individuals who want to join the FPC Grassroots Army and help support important lawsuits like this one can sign up in under three minutes at JoinFPC.org.
FPC and the petitioners are represented by David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson, William V. Bergstrom, and Athie O. Livas of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, and Nicolas J. Rotsko of Fluet & Associates PLLC.
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About Firearms Policy Coalition
Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) is a nonprofit membership organization that exists to create a world of maximal individual liberty and eliminate unconstitutional gun control laws. FPC works—and wins—for the People through high-impact strategic litigation, groundbreaking research, legislative and regulatory advocacy, grassroots activism, education, and public engagement. FPC’s legal division, FPC Law, is the nation’s leading initiative dedicated to restoring the right to keep and bear arms across the United States. To learn more about how FPC is working—and winning—for the People, sign up for FPC news alerts at firearmspolicy.org and follow FPC on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
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