Feds are gunning for NYC
DA, cops blast nationwide permit plan
Gun owners with conceal-carry permits from anywhere in the US would be allowed to tote their pistols around the Big Apple as if it were the Wild West under a proposed federal law — which Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. warned would be “a mistake.”
Gun owners are currently barred from carrying weapons in Gotham without a city permit, which have stringent requirements.
But the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act — which mirrors President Trump’s own stated opinion — would allow anyone with a valid carry permit to use it in all 50 states, just like a driver’s license.
“I think that would be a mistake,” Vance said at a Manhattan Republican Party event Wednesday night.
“Our gun laws I think are a significant part in the rapid and consistent decline in violent crime in New York state and New York City,” said Vance, noting that people carrying an illegal weapon in New York now face up to 3¹/2 years behind bars. “It’s important to have gun laws.”
The bill, introduced Jan. 3 by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), predictably has the backing of the NRA — but faces fierce opposition from New York’s law-enforcement community.
“It’s going to be like the wild, wild West. There could be a lot of shootouts, and not only with cops. If this person who comes [to New York] gets into a dispute, an argument with someone else, their first reaction might be to pull out a firearm and use it in the confrontation,” one police source said.
Another cop also blasted the idea.
“This would lead to anarchy. You’d just make our job ten times harder when you let any Tom, Dick and Harry walk into New York City with their guns in holsters,” the cop said.
Such bills have been introduced at other times over the years, but never passed, including a measure introduced by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) that is still pending before the Judiciary Committee.
With Trump in the White House and the GOP controlling Congress, Hudson and the NRA believe the bill stands a good chance of becoming the law of the land.
Trump is already on record supporting the concept.
“The right of self-defense doesn’t stop at the end of your driveway,” the president said on his Web site.
“That’s why I have a concealed carry permit and why tens of millions of Americans do too. That permit should be valid in all 50 states,” he added. “A driver’s license works in every state, so it’s common sense that a concealed carry permit should work in every state.”
The White House declined further comment on Thursday.
Hudson argued that the bill was “common sense.”
“Our Second Amendment right doesn’t disappear when we cross state lines,” he said in a statement.
“It will provide law-abiding citizens the right to conceal carry and travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state codes.”