The Supreme Court ruled in Wolford v. Lopez yesterday (June 25, 2026), that unlike vampires we do not have to ask permission to enter private property with our firearms, IF the property is open to the public.
New York's Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) originally contained a nearly identical "default no-carry" rule for public-facing private property. That provision - Penal Law §265.01-d was already struck down by the Second Circuit in Antonyuk v. James, well before this decision came down. So in practical terms, New York's rule already worked the way Wolford now requires nationwide: a permit holder may carry in most private businesses unless the business posts conspicuous "no firearms" signage.
What Wolford does is lock that default in place and close the door on any future attempt to revive a presumptive ban here. The burden now sits firmly with property owners to opt out, rather than with the public to opt in.
Friendly reminder, that this does not allow you to carry on private property not open to the public without express permission from the owner of the property, or someone who is authorized to give such permission. Or without express permission through a sign that authorizes you to possess such firearm on the property.
The court decision can be found below if anyone would like to read it in its entirety.
