Interesting. Bad cases make often make for bad decisions. This would seem to be a good case upon which to challenge 2nd Amendment violations now that the 2nd Circuit is in conflict with the 5th. He's a textbook good-guy gun owner.
Exactly what I was thinking - the two circuits are in total and complete disagreement; this opens the door for a challenge to the Supreme Court to decide it once and for all. It's even better since he's a soldier and with his security clearance he has reason to fear for his life when off duty - and New York (and 2nd Circuit) is saying "No, sorry, even though you protect us and keep us safe from terrorists, we don't trust you to have a gun to protect yourself."