A federal court has struck down New York state’s body armor ban that advocates pushed for in the wake of the racist mass shooting at a Buffalo Tops supermarket that killed 10 black people and injured three others in 2022.
The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge John Sinatra found that the ban violates the Second Amendment and is therefore unconstitutional.
The lawsuit was brought by two people who wanted to buy body armor for self-defense reasons but couldn’t because of the law.
Sinatra paused his ruling for 14 days to allow the state time to appeal his decision.
The Tops shooter, Payton Gendron, was wearing body armor when he carried out the attack, spurring passage of the ban in 2022.
The state attorney general’s office says they are reviewing the decision.