New Yorkers do not have a constitutional right to carry a concealed handgun in public, a federal judge ruled yesterday.

In a case brought by four New Yorkers challenging the denial of “concealed carry” gun permits by four state judges, Southern District Judge Cathy Seibel said she found persuasive the reasoning of the Illinois’ Court of Appeals in People v. Marin, 795 N.E.2d 958 (2003), that the overriding purpose of gun statutes should be to prevent innocent people from being victimized by gun violence.