About the Plantiff Corey Johnson
Plaintiff Corey Johnson is a U.S. citizen, resident of New York, and resides in Onondaga County. Plaintiff Johnson is a member of Gun Owners of America, Inc., and therefore, one of the individuals whose interests were represented by the organizational plaintiffs in Antonyuk v. Bruen.
Plaintiff Johnson has maintained an unrestricted New York carry permit since 2019 and is eligible to possess and carry firearms in the State of New York. Because he has a permit, he has met all the qualifications for licensure, including having good moral character.
Plaintiff Johnson routinely carries his handgun concealed when he leaves his home. Plaintiff Johnson does not carry his handgun in schools, courthouses, government buildings, or other obvious “sensitive places” which have been described by the Supreme Court. However, Plaintiff Johnson is responsible for his own security and for the security of his family, and thus, his firearm “generally does not leave [his] side when [he] leaves the house...”
Plaintiff Johnson is an outdoorsman, an avid fisherman, and routinely goes on hiking and camping trips throughout the state of New York, including in parks which are now off-limits by the CCIA. Given that parks do not appear in the Supreme Court’s list of traditional sensitive locations and that there is nothing “sensitive” about a park, Plaintiff Johnson “intend[s] to continue to carry his firearm when [he goes] fishing in Mercer Park ... within the next month.”
Additionally, in October of 2022, Plaintiff Johnson will tour “several state parks within New York, where [he] will engage in various recreational activities...” He will visit Bowman Lake State Park, where hunting with rifles is allowed, but carry of a concealed firearm is not allowed. Plaintiff Johnson intends to carry his firearm “on this upcoming trip.”
Likewise, Plaintiff Johnson eats at restaurants with his family, which are off-limits under the CCIA, not because they are a traditional sensitive place, but because they serve alcohol. He intends to carry his firearm within the restaurant in the coming days.
Plaintiff Johnson participates on what is called a “dice run” during New York winters. This is a competition where snowmobilers are required to follow a prescribed course, often through public parks and roads, and check in at various locations along the way with some of the locations being restaurants that serve alcohol. In any event, as in years past, he “intend[s] to go on a snowmobiling trip this winter, and [he] will carry [his] firearm with [him]” when he does, “including in those places where” he is required to “‘check in’ as part of the ‘dice run.’”
Plaintiff Johnson routinely visits “various locations that are considered ‘performance, art entertainment, gaming or sporting events’ under the CCIA.” Recently he had intended to attend the New York State Fairgrounds, until he learned it was adopting and enforcing the prohibition on concealed carrying. Because entrances to the fairgrounds may utilize “Bag Check Areas” for those entering, he did not attend the fair due to a significant risk that he would be discovered carrying an otherwise lawful firearm.
Plaintiff Johnson has also attended pro-gun and other rallies while armed. Now, rallies are off-limits because people assemble to exercise constitutional rights, even though none of the rallies or locations are traditional sensitive places. The next time such a rally is scheduled, Plaintiff Johnson intends to attend and do so while carrying his firearm, in violation of the CCIA.
Plaintiff Johnson frequently visits the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse at least once or twice every fall. He will visit this Zoo within the next 90 days, and understands that, while the Zoo has no policy against the carry of lawful firearms, the CCIA separately criminalizes such carry. However, he intends to carry when he visits the Zoo.
Plaintiff Johnson routinely carries his firearm when in public, as is his Second Amendment right. This includes shopping at various locations in Onondaga County, “such as gas stations, grocery stores, big box stores” and others. But the CCIA declares these locations “restricted locations” and bans carry of firearms unless he receives express consent of the owner. It is impractical for Plaintiff Johnson to ask permission at each location he visits. Moreover, as Plaintiff Johnson explains, “even if [he] receives permission at one point in time, such policy could change at any time and without notice, thus putting [him] at constant risk of committing crimes unawares.” Plaintiff Johnson intends to continue to carry in “various businesses and establishments in Onondaga County in violation of the CCIA’s restriction on ‘prohibited locations’ that are not conspicuously posted with signage or otherwise provide [him] with their express consent.”
Plaintiff Johnson is now exposed to criminal offenses for “simply going peaceably” about his daily life. Plaintiff Johnson faces a credible threat of prosecution because his specific intentions are now public through this filing, and the State Police have made it clear that they intend to enforce the CCIA’s provisions on a “zero tolerance” basis, stating “If you violate this law, you will be arrested.” Likewise, the District Attorney of Onondaga County has publicly stated his intent to confiscate firearms of “violators” and refer the “violators” back to their licensing judge who “granted them concealed-carry licenses in the first place, possibly leading to the revocation of their carry privileges.”
Moreover, Plaintiff Johnson is at an enhanced risk for having contact with law enforcement, as he routinely engages in fishing activities and is required to have his fishing license on his person. This is “subject to verification and review at any time by a New York Environmental Conservation Officer (who works for the State, not the County).” Plaintiff Johnson states that, in recent years, he has been stopped by those officers to check his license “at least a couple of times per year.” In 2022, so far, he has had at least four such interactions.