ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Two members of Congress want the Department of Justice to investigate New York’s gun laws. On May 15, Reps. Claudia Tenney and Elise Stefanik wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, characterizing the state’s gun policies aouts violating the Second Amendment.

In response to the letter—which you can read at the bottom of this story—New York’s top law enforcement officer defended those policies. “Gun safety laws keep New Yorkers and law enforcement officers safe from the scourge of gun violence,” reads a statement from the Office of New York Attorney General Letitia James sent Friday. “We have successfully defended New York’s nation-leading gun safety laws in the past, and we are prepared to do so again.”

Gun control supporters highlight the state’s lower-than-average rate of gun deaths per capita. The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2022, ranked New York in the No. 5 spot—behind Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Hawaii, and New Jersey—at 5.3 gun deaths per 100,000 residents.

“Our efforts have gotten more than 10,000 illegal guns off the streets, prevented teenagers from buying weapons of war, cracked down on ghost guns, and protected sensitive spaces like schools and subways,” Hochul said in a statement on Friday.

But critics say New York punishes responsible gun owners and violates the right to self-defense. Both Republicans, Stefanik and Tenney represent New York’s 21st and 24th House Districts, respectively. They accused Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul and state legislators of treating gun rights as optional.

According to Tenney, “The Second Amendment is not a suggestion; it is a Constitutional guarantee.” Their letter asks the DOJ to enforce the constitutional rights of New Yorkers, since the state will not.

Gun control provisions during the Hochul administration have included more background checks, training courses, and interviews for permits and banning guns in certain places, like parks and private property open to the public. Stefanik and Tenney cited three rulings to argue that New York acted “in direct defiance” of the U.S. Supreme Court when banning semiautomatic rifles, requiring handgun registrations, and limiting magazines to 10 rounds.

As they tell it, in 2008, SCOTUS ruled in “DC v. Heller” that “arms in common-use” can’t be banned, and semiautomatic rifles are popular in New York. Plus, Justice Antonin Scalia categorized handguns and semiautomatic rifles as common use. The court also held that individuals have a right to own guns for self-defense, but that ruling applied only to federal laws in Washington, D.C.

Second, as of 2010’s “McDonald v. City of Chicago,” SCOTUS used the Fourteenth Amendment to apply that right in every state. The decision incorporated the Second Amendment, so New York has to follow it.

Third, the ruling in “New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen” required that any modern gun control legislation match a “well-established and representative” historical tradition of pre-1868 firearm regulations. Tenney and Stefanik agreed that the magazine limit and mandatory registration both fail that standard. They added that New York’s concealed carry training requirements and social media conditions further contradict Bruen’s prohibition on making citizens justify being armed by articulating some special need.

Bondi’s office has not yet commented on whether they’ll open a federal inquiry. It’s possible that the DOJ will file suit under Section 241 of Title 18 of the United States Code. That section “makes it unlawful for two or more persons to agree to injure, threaten, or intimidate a person in the United States in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States or because of his or her having exercised such a right,” according to the DOJ.

“New York Democrats have made it their mission to punish gun ownership while doing little to increase accountability on criminals pulling the trigger. They’ve driven manufacturers away, they’ve undermined the Second Amendment, and they’re not stopping,” said New York Assembly Republican Leader Will Barclay when reached for comment on Friday. “Legal gun owners—the hunters, the people who take safety courses and obtain firearms through the permitting process—aren’t the problem in New York. But it’s law-abiding gun owners who have felt the brunt of the state’s overzealous regulations.”

And, “I strongly support the efforts of Chairwoman Elise Stefanik and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney in urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate this ongoing abuse,” said Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt. “Their leadership is critical, and I applaud their decision to seek accountability through federal action.”

Citing Bruen, federal courts have already struck down some parts of New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act of 2022. Even so, Hochul’s office responded to the letter on Friday with a prediction that the laws in question would be upheld in court. As far as the governor is concerned, Stefanik and Tenney are wasting everyone’s time by trying to undo progress and reduce safety to score political points.

“New York’s Congressional delegation should be focused on passing stronger gun safety laws—not punishing states like New York that do the right thing,” Hochul said on Friday. “You can’t be ‘tough on crime’ if you’re not tough on illegal guns.”

Hochul is running for reelection in 2026. Currently, Republicans seem likely to field Stefanik as the Republican nominee. President Donald Trump endorsed the other two likeliest GOP primary contenders—U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman—for reelection in their current offices. Many have interpreted the move as clearing the way for longtime loyalist Stefanik to clinch the nomination.

Take a look at the letter from Stefanik and Tenney below:

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