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Amid the bright lights and electronic billboards of New York’s Times Square, city officials are putting up new signs declaring the busy intersection a “Gun Free Zone.”
The sprawling Manhattan tourist attraction is one of dozens of “sensitive” places — including parks, churches and theaters — that will be gun-free under a new state law that takes effect Thursday. The measure, which follows a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expands gun-carrying rights, also sets strict standards for issuing concealed-carry permits.
New York is among a half-dozen states that have had key provisions of their gun laws struck down by the Supreme Court because of a requirement that applicants prove they had “good cause” for a permit. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said last Friday that she and her fellow Democrats in the state legislature were taking action next week because the ruling “destroyed the governor’s ability to be able to protect his citizens from people who carry concealed weapons where wish.”
The hastily passed law, however, led to confusion and legal challenges from gun owners who argued it unduly limited their constitutional rights.
“They seem designed less to address gun violence and more to simply prevent people from getting guns — even if those people are law-abiding, upstanding citizens who, according to the Supreme Court, have the right to own them,” said Jonathan Corbett, a Brooklyn attorney and permit applicant who is one of several people challenging the law in court.
Pushback from some law enforcement agencies
Under the law, concealed carry permit applicants will be required to complete 16 hours of classroom training and two hours of live-fire practice. Ordinary citizens will be banned from carrying guns in schools, churches, subways, theaters and amusement parks — among other places authorities consider “sensitive.”
Applicants will also be required to provide a list of social media accounts for the past three years as part of a “character and conduct” review. The requirement was added because shooters sometimes posted hints of violence online before opening fire on people.
Sheriffs in some northern counties said the extra work for their investigators could add to existing backlogs in processing applications.
In Rochester, Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter said it currently takes two to four hours to do a basic gun permit check on a “clean” applicant. He believes the new law will add another one to three hours to each permit. The county has about 600 pending handgun permits.
“It’s going to slow everything down a little bit more,” he said.
In the Mohawk Valley, Fulton County Sheriff Richard S. Giardino had questions about how digital surveillance would continue.
“It’s been written for three years on your social media. We won’t print three years of social media posts from everyone. If you look at my Facebook, I post six or 10 things a day,” said the sheriff, a former district attorney and judge.
The list of prohibited places to carry guns has drawn criticism from advocates who say it is so broad that it will make it harder for people with a permit to move into public places. People carrying guns could only engage in private business with a permit, such as a sign posted in a window.
Businesses put up signs welcoming gun owners
Giardino has already started handing out signs to local businesses that people can legally carry firearms on the premises. Jennifer Elson, who owns the Let’s Twist Again diner in Amsterdam, said she put up the sheriff’s sign, along with one of her own that read in part, “according to our governor, we have to post this crap. If you’re a law-abiding citizen with a legal permit to carry, you’re welcome here.”
“I feel pretty strongly that everyone’s constitutional rights should be protected,” she said.
But in Times Square, visited by about 50 million tourists a year, and far less crowded places, carrying guns will be illegal starting Thursday.
WATCH | The Supreme Court deals a major blow to gun reform advocates:
The US Supreme Court dealt a major blow to gun reform advocates and struck down a New York law that imposed restrictions on carrying guns in public.
New York City Council President Adrienne Adams said Tuesday that she looks forward to seeing authorities take action to “protect New Yorkers and visitors who visit Times Square.”
A lawsuit challenging the law’s provisions claims the rules make it harder for license holders to leave their homes without breaking the law. A federal judge is expected to rule soon on a motion challenging multiple provisions of the law filed on behalf of a Schenectady resident who holds a carry license.
The Supreme Court ruling spurred other states to act
The Supreme Court ruling also led to a wave of legislation in California to tighten gun ownership rules, including a new law that could hold gun dealers and manufacturers liable for any harm caused by anyone they have “reasonable cause to believe to believe he is at significant risk’ of illegal gun use.
Earlier this month, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed a law requiring gun permit applicants to pass in-person interviews with the licensing authority.
New Jersey requires people to go through training before getting a permit and will require new residents to register guns brought in from another state.
Hawaii, which has the lowest number of gun deaths in the country, is still weighing its options. Since the Supreme Court ruling, the state has issued only one new gun permit.
Although New York does not keep statewide data on applications for handgun permits, there have been reports of long lines at the county clerk’s office and other evidence of a spike in applications before the law took effect.
In the Mohawk Valley, Pine Tree Rifle Club President Paul Catucci said interest in the club’s volunteer-run safety courses “exploded right away” late this summer.
“I had to turn down hundreds of them,” he said.
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