Photo Courtesy of NYPD
The House of Representatives voted last Wednesday to approve the controversial legislation.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Elected New York officials and law enforcement leaders over the past seven days have roundly ripped Congress and the National Rifle Association for the controversial Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, which was approved by the House of Representatives in a vote last Wednesday afternoon.
The bill permits an individual with a gun license issued in one state to carry a concealed firearm in any state in the union, regardless of each state’s firearm possession standards and laws.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) sounded the alarm on the “dangerous” legislation back in October, saying it would “put the safety of New York residents and law enforcement officials at risk.”
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman accused the House of voting “to strip New York law enforcement of their right to enforce common sense policies that keep New Yorkers safe from the scourge of gun violence.”
“New York has some of the strongest gun laws in the country,” he continued. “This bill could return New York to the bad old days, by rolling back the protections that have reduced gun-related deaths in New York State to some of the lowest rates in the nation. This lowest-common-denominator approach would undermine states’ basic responsibility to protect our communities – including by determining who may carry a concealed, loaded gun within our borders. It would risk the lives of our families and our law enforcement officers, while facilitating gun trafficking and promoting mass violence. With each tragedy, we lament the loopholes in our federal gun laws. Today, the House just voted to create a huge new one. I urge the Senate to reject this disastrous legislation.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo echoed Schumer’s sentiments, saying the proposed law puts “all New Yorkers” at risk.
“This legislation would let individuals from out-of-state convicted of certain crimes carry hidden, loaded weapons in New York, in violation of New York’s much better, safer law,” he added. “Only the NRA could propose something so ill-considered, dangerous and vile. New York passed the strongest gun safety measures in the country, and instead of joining the fight against senseless gun violence, Washington is trying to make New York and the rest of the nation less safe.”
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said “we must do all within our power” to see that the act does not become federal law.
“As prosecutors and law enforcement officials, it is imperative that we join together and be heard as one in denouncing the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. For the last 20 years, New Yorkers have witnessed a historical and dramatic drop in violent crime, due in large measure to having among the toughest gun control laws in the nation,” Brown noted. “The enactment of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act has the strong potential of undoing the city’s downward trend in crime by allowing individuals with weapon permits from states with lax gun laws to carry a concealed weapon on our streets, putting both our police and our citizens at risk.”
