A Manhattan federal court judge ruled on Monday that the city’s $340 fee for a handgun gun permit is constitutional. The Second Amendment Foundation commenced a lawsuit against Mayor Michael Bloomberg last April, alleging that the fee (requiring renewal every three years, plus a $94.25 charge for a fingerprint check) amounted to an exorbitant sum, and in effect, a violation of the Second Amendment. But Judge John Koeltl disagreed. “There is no evidence that the fee has deterred or is likely to deter any individual from exercising his or her Second Amendment right,” he said, adding that courts have approved significantly higher fees.
