2026 Session Roundup: Concealed Carry and Sensitive Locations Proposals

What These Bills Would Do

Following the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen, New York enacted the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) establishing a new permitting framework and an extensive list of "sensitive locations" where concealed carry is prohibited even with a valid license. The 2025-2026 session includes numerous proposals to adjust this framework from both directions.

Expanding carry rights:

• A04163 / S02021 would expand the concealed carry license to include open carry, subject to state and federal law.^[1]
• A01079 / S06785. Would permit duly licensed judges, justices, and criminal prosecutors acting within their official duties to carry concealed firearms at court facilities with neither magnetometers nor duly designated and assigned security personnel present^[2]
• A05599 / S03536 would permit judges, justices and support magistrates of a town or village justice court or the unified court system who are duly licensed to possess a pistol or revolver under Penal Law 400.00 to carry a firearm, rifle or shotgun in sensitive locations.^[3]
• A05321 / S03021 would prohibit DOT rules under Vehicle and Traffic Law 1626 from restricting possession of a concealed firearm by a person with a valid New York concealed-carry permit at state rest and parking areas and scenic overlooks.^[4]
• S03127 would make a license to possess a pistol or revolver permit the licensee to carry that weapon concealed.

Restricting carry rights:

• A07382 / S01382 would prohibit concealed firearms in national parks and national wildlife refuge systems, with exceptions for authorized law enforcement, authorized hunting, privately owned residences and possession otherwise specifically permitted by law.^[5]
• S01273. Would prohibit openly carrying rifles or shotguns with certain exemptions
• A10385 would remove the sensitive-location exemption for current or retired federal law enforcement officers present at a polling place to enforce federal immigration laws in violation of the bill's proposed Election Law 17-158.

Current Status

The last recorded actions on these bills are committee referrals on January 7, 2026, except A10385, which was referred to Election Law on March 3, 2026. A05599 had previously been held for consideration in Codes on May 13, 2025.

What to Watch

The CCIA's sensitive location provisions continue to be litigated in federal court, and any judicial narrowing of the list could render some of these legislative proposals moot. The Sullivan Act framework under Penal Law Article 400 remains the foundation of New York's licensing system, and the CCIA overlay adds complexity that legislators are still working to calibrate. Watch for the federal courts, particularly the Second Circuit, to issue rulings that reshape the legislative landscape on these issues.