Pro 2A is not something you normally expect to hear from a born and raised New Yorker, especially from New York City. However, it’s becoming more and more common regardless of the impeding and stringent gun laws in not only the state but the city as well. Recently New York has had its own experience with an active shooter. And of course the media automatically came out saying the alleged weapon was an AR-15. So lets go through some facts and some background on NYC firearm laws.
We already know that the AR-15 is banned in NYC. As a matter of fact, any rifle or shotgun that can hold more than 5 rounds is illegal in NYC. You need a permit to own and purchase a rifle or shotgun in NYC and they all have to be registered. The current wait time is at least three months for both rifle/shotgun permit and pistol permit. Not to mention the outrageous permit costs. You’re looking at $340 for pistol and $140 for rifle plus your ~$85 fingerprinting fee. But wait! Good news! If you apply together, you can save on paying a separate fingerprinting fee. Just don’t forget to type your pistol permit or you automatically get denied and lose your $340.
I haven’t been able to find any law that states the hospital was a gun free zone (unless there was a sign that stated the hospital was a gun free zone it’s not listed in any penal code for NYC). So this may have had something to do with the fact concealed carry permits are non-existent in NYC. So what’s the point, right? When you apply for your pistol permit in NYC you’re applying to own a firearm in your home and that’s it. Oh, you want to go to a range close by out of NYC? Your friends have some property upstate? You have a second home upstate or out of state? Naturally you want to bring your firearm with you. Well, you can’t. As a law-abiding citizen in NYC and a legal permit holder you are only allowed to keep your firearm in your home and to and from an “authorized range” in New York City (which is any range inside of NYC). You can’t leave the confines of the five boros. Competitions? Out of the question unless they are in NYC.
Since Michael Bloomberg let go of his reigns of NYC, he has started his anti-gun crusade nationwide. He had started Mayors Against Illegal Guns and after having many of his supporters pull their allegiance due to the realization this was about stripping American citizens of their rights and NOT getting illegal guns off the street, he started Everytown for Gun Safety. This was also a combination of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (that’s a mouthful). Bloomberg has been on this rampage since his days of Mayor of NYC. We’ve been no stranger to being degraded and looked down upon simply because we’re advocates for our rights as American citizens.
Recently I’ve had the opportunity to go to D.C. and speak to some of my states representatives in hopes to change the face of the Second Amendment. Women are now the fastest growing demographic in the gun industry. We have decided to take our safety into our own hands. We have also been dominating in competitions and 2A advocacy groups. There are remarkable women making huge strides in protecting the Second Amendment and the numbers only continue to grow.
What happened in New York City this week was a complete tragedy. An innocent life was lost at the hands of someone else. The firearm used was illegal in NYC, but that didn’t stop this criminal from breaking the law. If someone is committed to breaking the law, they will find a way no matter how many laws they break in the process. The only way to protect yourself against a criminal with a gun, is a good guy with a gun and training.
by Lauren Hartnett
I’m a gun-loving medic from NYC who has set my personal goal as high as changing the gun laws in my home state and city. Educating and empowering women by teaching them the ways of the gun world has become a passion of mine. Aside from shooting and saving lives, doing anything else that can raise adrenaline pretty much sums me up.
Photo courtesy of youviewed.com
