Firearms, Alcohol, and Drugs in New York

Overview

New York does not have a single Penal Law statute that makes it a stand-alone crime to carry or possess a handgun "while intoxicated." That point matters because earlier versions of this guide claimed such a statute existed under the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, and it does not. Penal Law 400.00 governs the license required to possess a handgun, and the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA, L. 2022, ch. 371, effective September 1, 2022) added the sensitive-location and restricted-location offenses in Penal Law 265.01-e and 265.01-d. None of those provisions turns on a blood alcohol concentration or a general intoxication test.

Instead, alcohol and drugs intersect with New York firearm law in five concrete ways: (1) bars and other establishments licensed to serve alcohol on the premises are "sensitive locations" where carry is a felony regardless of whether you drink; (2) a license to carry can be denied or revoked on character and substance-abuse grounds, and a recent drunk-driving conviction is a specific disqualifier; (3) carrying a loaded handgun while committing a crime such as drunk driving exposes you to separate, cumulative weapons felonies; (4) federal law independently bars unlawful drug users from possessing firearms; and (5) some localities, such as the City of Buffalo, impose their own prohibition on carrying while intoxicated. Each of these is addressed below with the controlling statute.

New York is a licensed-carry state, not a permitless or constitutional-carry state. Possessing a handgun without a Penal Law 400.00 license is itself a crime, before alcohol or drugs enter the picture.

There Is No General "Carry While Intoxicated" Statute

Penal Law 265.01-e is titled "Criminal possession of a firearm, rifle or shotgun in a sensitive location." Read in full, it criminalizes possessing a firearm in or upon a listed "sensitive location" when the person knows or reasonably should know the location is sensitive. It contains no reference to alcohol, drugs, intoxication, impairment, or any blood alcohol level. Any prior statement that 265.01-e prohibits "carrying while intoxicated" with "no minimum BAC threshold" was incorrect and has been removed.

This does not mean carrying after drinking is safe or wise. It means the legal exposure in New York comes from the location you are in, the license rules you are subject to, and any other crime you commit, rather than from a dedicated firearms-DUI statute.

Alcohol-Serving Establishments Are Sensitive Locations

The CCIA's sensitive-location list does reach places where alcohol is served. Under Penal Law 265.01-e(2)(o), a "sensitive location" includes "any establishment holding an active license for on-premise consumption pursuant to article four, four-A, five, or six of the alcoholic beverage control law where alcohol is consumed," and any establishment licensed under article four of the cannabis law for on-premise consumption.

The practical effect:

• Carrying a firearm into a bar, tavern, nightclub, or a restaurant that holds an on-premises liquor license is a violation of 265.01-e even if you are completely sober and do not order a drink. The offense attaches to the licensed location, not to your state of intoxication.
• The same list separately covers other venues where alcohol is commonly present, such as theaters, stadiums, racetracks, museums, amusement parks, performance venues, conference centers, banquet halls, and gaming facilities, under Penal Law 265.01-e(2)(p).

Criminal possession of a firearm in a sensitive location under Penal Law 265.01-e is a class E felony. A conviction also triggers revocation of any carry license (Penal Law 400.00(18)(a)).

Note on litigation: The CCIA's sensitive-location scheme was largely upheld in Antonyuk v. James, 120 F.4th 941 (2d Cir. 2024), cert denied 2025, and Christian v. James, No. 24-2847 (2d Cir. May 18, 2026) separately upheld the public-parks category. The place-of-worship category in Penal Law 265.01-e(2)(c) remains enjoined under Antonyuk, so a licensee may carry at a place of worship unless the property owner or institution prohibits it. The alcohol-establishment provision in 265.01-e(2)(o) was upheld and is enforceable.

Private Property (Restricted Locations): Default Rule Struck Down

Separately from sensitive locations, Penal Law 265.01-d made it "criminal possession of a weapon in a restricted location" to bring a firearm onto private property unless the owner or lessee had allowed firearms by clear and conspicuous signage or express consent. That opt-in default is no longer enforceable. In Christian v. James, No. 24-2847 (2d Cir. May 18, 2026), the Second Circuit held the 265.01-d default unconstitutional as applied to private property open to the public, and in Wolford v. Lopez, No. 24-1046 (U.S. June 25, 2026), the Supreme Court held that such express-consent default bans on public-facing private property violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. The rule today: a licensee may carry on private property open to the public, such as a store, pharmacy, or gas station, unless the owner actually prohibits it by conspicuous signage or actual notice. Property owners keep the right to exclude firearms, and a posted or stated prohibition must be honored.

Two caveats matter in the alcohol context. First, those rulings addressed property open to the public. An invitation-only social setting where alcohol is served (a house party, a private catered event) is not property held open to the public, so treat carry there as requiring the host's permission, and honoring the host's wishes remains mandatory in any case. Second, nothing in Christian or Wolford touches Penal Law 265.01-e(2)(o): any establishment holding an on-premises liquor license is a sensitive location where carry remains a class E felony regardless of what the owner says.

License Eligibility, Character, and Substance Abuse

A carry license under Penal Law 400.00 can be denied or revoked on grounds tied to alcohol and drugs:

• Good moral character. Penal Law 400.00(1)(b) defines "good moral character," for licensing purposes, as "having the essential character, temperament and judgement necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only in a manner that does not endanger oneself or others." A history of alcohol- or drug-related misconduct bears directly on this finding.
• Controlled-substance users. Penal Law 400.00(1)(e) bars a license to any applicant who "is not" free of being an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance as defined in 21 U.S.C. 802. An unlawful drug user is statutorily ineligible.
• Recent drunk-driving conviction. For a carry license issued under Penal Law 400.00(2)(f), Penal Law 400.00(1)(n)(ii) bars issuance if the applicant has been convicted within five years of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated under Vehicle and Traffic Law 1192. (The same five-year bar covers third-degree assault and menacing.)
• In-person interview and references. Penal Law 400.00(1)(o) requires the carry-license applicant to meet the licensing officer in person, provide at least four character references attesting to good moral character, and submit a certificate of the training required by Penal Law 400.00(19). The same paragraph requires a list of current and former social media accounts from the past three years; that disclosure requirement was enjoined in the Antonyuk litigation and should not be treated as currently enforceable.
• Training. Penal Law 400.00(19) requires 16 hours of in-person classroom instruction plus a minimum of 2 hours of live-fire range training (18 hours total), with an 80 percent score on a written test. The mandated curriculum expressly includes "use of deadly force" and the sensitive-place and restricted-place rules.
• Revocation. Under Penal Law 400.00(11), conviction of a felony or serious offense, or otherwise becoming ineligible (including engaging in conduct that would have warranted denial), operates as grounds to revoke the license. An alcohol- or drug-related firearms incident can therefore cost an existing license, not just a future application.

A standalone violation of Penal Law 400.00 itself (for example, a licensing-rule violation by an otherwise valid licensee) is a class A misdemeanor under Penal Law 400.00(15).

Compounding Weapons Charges During a DWI Stop

Because there is no firearms-DUI statute, the serious firearms exposure during an impaired-driving stop comes from New York's possession felonies, which can stack on top of the Vehicle and Traffic Law charges:

• Criminal possession of a firearm, Penal Law 265.01-b, a class E felony, reaches simple unlicensed possession of a handgun.
• Criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, Penal Law 265.02, a class D felony, applies in aggravated situations such as possessing three or more firearms, an assault weapon, a large capacity ammunition feeding device, or a defaced firearm, or repeat possession after a prior conviction.
• Criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, Penal Law 265.03, a class C felony, applies to possession of any loaded firearm outside the home or place of business, and to possession of a loaded firearm with intent to use it unlawfully.

A driver stopped for drunk driving who is found with an unlicensed or unlawfully carried loaded handgun can face a class C or class D weapons felony entirely independent of, and in addition to, the Vehicle and Traffic Law charges.

Federal Drug-User Prohibition

Independent of state law, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) makes it a federal crime for a person who is an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance to possess a firearm or ammunition. This is a status-based federal bar, distinct from momentary intoxication, and it applies regardless of state marijuana legalization. It mirrors the state ineligibility ground in Penal Law 400.00(1)(e).

Local Ordinances: New York City and Buffalo

• New York City runs a separate, stricter handgun licensing regime under the NYC Administrative Code (10-131) and Title 38 of the Rules of the City of New York. A license issued elsewhere in the state is generally not valid for carry in New York City absent a special permit from the NYPD (Penal Law 400.00(6)). Treat New York City as its own jurisdiction.
• The City of Buffalo's code expressly provides that "no person shall carry a firearm, shotgun, rifle or air gun in the City while in an intoxicated condition." This is a local prohibition, not a statewide one, and it illustrates that municipalities may impose intoxicated-carry rules that do not exist in the Penal Law. Check local law wherever you carry.

Vehicle and Traffic Law: Impaired-Driving Penalties

If alcohol or drugs surface during a traffic stop, the underlying impaired-driving charge stands on its own under Vehicle and Traffic Law 1192. New York recognizes several categories:

First-offense penalty schedule (Vehicle and Traffic Law 1193; figures from the New York DMV penalty schedule):

Repeat offenses escalate. A second DWI, DWAI/Drug, or DWAI/Combination within 10 years is a class E felony ($1,000 to $5,000 fine, up to 4 years). A third within 10 years is a class D felony ($2,000 to $10,000 fine, up to 7 years). A second or third aggravated DWI within 10 years carries the same felony classes with longer revocation periods. (Source: New York DMV, Penalties for Alcohol or Drug-Related Violations.)

New York applies an implied-consent rule under Vehicle and Traffic Law 1194. Refusing a chemical test carries its own civil penalty and a revocation of at least one year for a first refusal, and refusal does not prevent prosecution.

Self-Defense, Intoxication, and the Duty to Retreat

New York imposes a duty to retreat before using deadly physical force in public. Under Penal Law 35.15(2)(a), a person may not use deadly physical force if he or she knows that the necessity to do so can be avoided "with complete personal safety, to oneself and others" by retreating, except that there is no duty to retreat when the person is in his or her own dwelling and is not the initial aggressor. New York has no stand-your-ground law outside that dwelling exception. Penal Law 35.20 separately addresses the use of force in defense of premises, including the use of deadly physical force against a burglar in a dwelling or occupied building.

Intoxication does not, by itself, strip a person of the right of self-defense in the home, but it can undermine the "reasonable belief" the justification statutes require and complicate the retreat analysis in public. A defensive shooting by someone who has been drinking will be scrutinized heavily on both the reasonableness and the duty-to-retreat elements.

Other Overlays: SAFE Act Hardware Limits

Two SAFE Act overlays can convert an otherwise minor possession case into a more serious felony and are worth knowing alongside the alcohol rules:

• Assault weapons. Penal Law 265.00(22) defines "assault weapon," and possession of one is criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a class D felony, under Penal Law 265.02(7).
• Magazine capacity. Penal Law 265.00(23) defines a "large capacity ammunition feeding device" as a magazine or similar device that holds, or can be readily converted to hold, more than ten rounds. Possession of such a device is a class D felony under Penal Law 265.02(8). (The earlier seven-round load limit was struck down by the courts; the ten-round capacity limit remains.)

Federal Aircraft Rule

Carrying a firearm into the secured area of an airport or onto a commercial aircraft is governed by 49 U.S.C. 46505, not by the general federal firearms statute. Having a concealed dangerous weapon accessible in flight, or placing a loaded firearm on an aircraft, can be punished by a fine and up to 10 years in prison, with higher penalties where human life is disregarded. This is a federal charge that exists on top of any New York offense.

Practical Guidance for License Holders

• Do not bring a handgun into any establishment that holds an on-premises liquor license. Penal Law 265.01-e(2)(o) makes that a class E felony whether or not you drink.
• On private property open to the public, a licensee may carry unless the owner prohibits it by conspicuous signage or actual notice. The old Penal Law 265.01-d opt-in default was struck down (Christian v. James, 2d Cir. 2026; Wolford v. Lopez, U.S. 2026). At invitation-only gatherings such as house parties, get the host's permission, and always honor a posted or stated prohibition. If the venue holds an on-premises liquor license, the sensitive-location felony still applies no matter what the owner allows.
• Secure the firearm before you drink. Even though New York has no firearms-DUI statute, a DWI arrest can lead to weapons felonies under Penal Law 265.01-b, 265.02, or 265.03, plus license revocation under 400.00(11).
• A drunk-driving conviction can block a future carry license. Penal Law 400.00(1)(n)(ii) disqualifies applicants convicted of misdemeanor DWI within the prior five years.
• Drug use is a separate disqualifier. Both Penal Law 400.00(1)(e) and 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) bar firearm possession by unlawful drug users.
• Check local law. New York City has its own stricter licensing regime, and cities such as Buffalo impose their own intoxicated-carry prohibitions.
• Remember the duty to retreat. Outside your dwelling, Penal Law 35.15 requires retreat where safely possible before deadly force, and impairment makes the reasonableness of any defensive use of force harder to defend.

Key Statutes

This section is current as of the January 1, 2026 statutory text and reflects the post-Bruen case law through Wolford v. Lopez (U.S. June 25, 2026). The private-property default question is settled, and Antonyuk v. James (120 F.4th 941, 2d Cir. 2024, cert denied 2025) remains the governing decision on the rest of the sensitive-location scheme. Consult qualified counsel for specific situations.