If you follow gun politics, you are probably aware of the few states that have the hardest gun control laws on the books. With the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act on it’s way to a potential reality, some of those state representatives are starting to speak their mind.
The state at the top of the fearful list is none other than my home state of New York. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. It’s not really the STATE of New York, but rather New York City. The state, as a whole, doesn’t really have a problem with armed citizens. There are a few pockets in the state that push back hard and because of the population density, they take the rest of the state with them when it comes to elections and legislation.
For those unfamiliar with the pending legislation, here is what it aims to accomplish: If enacted, the bill would allow anyone with a concealed carry permit from their state, to carry in any other state in the Country. It’s fairy simple, and would act like a drivers license. The big difference, however, is important. Being that permits would still be issued on the state level, the permitting system would not be taken over by the federal government. If this were the case and the bill was repealed in 4 or 8 years, everyone with a federally-issued permit would stand to lose it. With the states still handling their own permits and if the bill were to be repealed, the national reciprocity part would go away. Not the permits.
Anyway, let’s get back to the meat of this article; New York City.
“The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act threatens New York’s ability to protect itself,” Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance said.
Vance said the bill would make it impossible for the NYPD to tell the good guys from the bad, including terrorists.
Let’s be honest about reality: If a terrorist wants to get a hold of a gun, chances are it’s going to happen. That’s international. If you’re talking homegrown terrorism, we’ve seen them use things like pressure cookers before, doing a lot more damage than a gun would. No law is going to stop them, just like no law stops them from carrying out their attacks.
As far as telling ‘the good guys from the bad’, a person with a police interaction would still have their permit on them to show that they do, indeed, have the permit and are able to carry in their state (and across the Country). If they come from a permitless-carry state such as Idaho, their drivers license would prove residency, hence proving their ability to legally carry their firearm.
I understand that NYC is a large city with a large population, and they are a target for attacks and bad people all around, but wouldn’t more legally and responsibly armed citizens be a nice deterrent to their problems with crime and potential terrorist attacks?
