A federal district judge in western New York held that the state may not bar most residents from buying body armor, because the Second Amendment protects defensive covering as well as weapons. Judge John Sinatra issued the October 21, 2026 order in a suit by two would-be buyers and a firearms group against state law-enforcement leaders, after 2022 laws restricted sales to designated jobs following a mass shooting in Buffalo.

He concluded modern armor falls within the constitutional text under Supreme Court precedent and that the state showed no matching tradition of forbidding civilian acquisition. The ruling does not touch a distinct offense of wearing armor while committing certain gun felonies and is stayed fourteen days pending a likely appeal.