By JIMMY LAWTON

CANTON -- St. Lawrence County legislators passed a law Monday aimed at allowing eligible citizens to acquire unrestricted carry-and-conceal pistol licenses.

The law was proposed after St. Lawrence County Judge Jerome Richards was publicly accused of refusing to issue unrestricted conceal carry permits for citizens.

Richard has been accused of restricting conceal-carry permits for the purposes of hunting and target shooting.

The controversy stems from a state law that lists the reasons that a conceal carry license may be issued. Critics say Richards has used the law as a means to deny citizens their Second Amendment rights.

A section of the state law follows:

"A license for a pistol or revolver, other than an assault weapon or a disguised gun, shall be issued to (a) have and possess in his dwelling by a householder; (b) have and possess in his place of business by a merchant or storekeeper; (c) have and carry concealed while so employed by a messenger employed by a banking institution or express company; (d) have and carry concealed by a justice of the supreme court in the first or second judicial departments, or by a judge of the New York city civil court or the New York city criminal court; (e) have and carry concealed while so employed by a regular employee of an institution of the state, or of any county, city, town or village, under control of a commissioner of correction of the city or any warden, superintendent or head keeper of any state prison, penitentiary, workhouse, county jail or other institution for the detention of persons convicted or accused of crime or held as witnesses in criminal cases, provided that application is made therefor by such commissioner, warden, superintendent or head keeper; (f) have and carry concealed, without regard to employment or place of possession, by any person when proper cause exists for the issuance thereof.”

Residents claim Richards has failed to issue legal permits based the lack of "proper cause." To address this St. Lawrence County has chosen to define the term proper cause.

“It is hereby declared that 'proper cause', as that term is found in the issuance of pistol licenses wherein the applicant has sought to "have and carry concealed; without regard to employment or place of possession, by any person" pursuant New York State Penal Law §400.00(2)(1) shall be defined as "any legitimate reason, a circumstance or combination of circumstances justifying the granting of a privilege," the resolution says.

"This Local Law specifically renounces and rejects the definition of 'proper cause' found within the decisions of the Matter of Klenosky v. New York City Police Dept., 75 A.D.2d 793,428 N.Y.S.2d 256 (1st Dept., 1980), afforded reasons stated in the memorandum at the Appellate Division 53 N.Y.2d 685, 439 N.Y.S.2d 108,421 N.E.2d 503 (1981); Banda v. Sullivan, 290 A.D.2d 691735 N.Y.S.2d 660 (3'd Dept., 2002); Kachalsky v. Cacace (District- 10 Civ 05413, 2nd Circuit- 11-3642)(2015) and their progeny as being an arbitrary and capricious restriction of an individual's right to bear arms guaranteed under the 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution," the resolution says.

The law will take effect immediately.