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Federal judge shoots down stun gun ban in New York, loosening restrictions statewide

Posted at 1:48 AM, Mar 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-25 01:48:50-04

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that New York's ban on personal ownership of stun guns is unconstitutional.

Friday's ruling by a district judge in Utica is the latest in a series of court decisions that have led to the loosening of restrictions on the weapons in several states.

The decision came in a lawsuit filed by Matthew Avitabile, who said he wanted to buy a stun gun for self-defense in his rural upstate New York home.

His lawyers argued that New York's longstanding ban on civilian ownership of stun guns violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Illinois' Supreme Court made a similar ruling Thursday, deciding in favor of two men charged with carrying stun guns.

A Massachusetts court struck down that state's stun gun ban last year.