Could all of New York City become a gun-free zone? – Telemundo New York (47)

This item is originally published in english on June 23 at 3:11 p.m. EDT on THE CITY.

On Thursday, the US Supreme Court found New York’s restrictive gun permit laws to be unconstitutional, prompting a scramble by state officials to find ways to create “sensitive places” where firearms would still be prohibited.

By a 6-3 vote, with the liberal justices dissenting, the court declared that New York laws requiring gun owners to show they have “good cause” to carry weapons in public violate both constitutional law of the Second Amendment to “keep and bear arms” and the 14th Amendment, which prohibits the infringement of the rights of citizens without due process.

In New York, both Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul have worried about the fallout from this long-awaited ruling, warning it could lead to a dramatic increase in the number of people walking through crowded places like Times Square and the subway. with legally permitted handguns.

Hours after Justice Clarence Thomas’ written decision fell, officials here were already talking about creating “gun-free” zones through new legislation.

In his decision, Thomas specified that states still have the right to create gun-free zones, albeit with limits. He rejected New York state’s argument that “the entire island of Manhattan” would qualify as a sensitive location.

That didn’t stop the City Council from suggesting state legislation that would have the effect of branding all of New York City a “sensitive place.”

Council President Adrienne Adams said she would sponsor a resolution asking the state to “designate the highest population density areas defined by the US Census of public roads, streets, sidewalks, and highways where there are 10,000 or more people within a square mile as “sensitive places.”

As a whole, New York City has a population density of more than 28,000 people per square mile.

“Given the high density that characterizes most of New York City, we need to significantly limit the damage,” he said at a news conference to announce the council’s resolution, which urges the state to consider the proposal but is not legally binding.

“We cannot afford the luxury of weapons of violence proliferating and not diminishing.”

Going even further, President Adams wants to declare as “sensitive locations” any area within 1,000 feet of public transportation systems, hospitals, parks, government buildings, schools, day care centers, places of worship, cemeteries, financial institutions, theaters , bars, libraries. , homeless shelters and courts.

Mayor Adams, who before the ruling said the case “kept me up at night,” also promised a legislative response, and his lead attorney, Brendan McGuire, mentioned the possibility of creating “sensitive locations” within the city.

McGuire said the city council is looking at “every option available,” adding, “that includes when we’re looking at sensitive places and figuring out how we can, in a way that’s as protective of New York City residents, and how we can We do it in a way that is consistent with the law, in a way that is reasoned and thoughtful in how we can protect those who are here in the city.”

Hochul said she was prepared to call a special session in Albany in July, though she did not detail the potential legislation, but promised that specific details would be provided to leadership and the media “in the short term.”

“If the federal government doesn’t have sweeping laws to protect us, then our states and our governors have a moral responsibility to do what we can and have laws that protect our citizens from what’s going on: the gun culture insanity that now he has owned everyone up to the Supreme Court,” Hochul said.

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The issue of “sensitive locations” came up when the case came to court last fall. Several of the justices, including Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan and Chief Justice John Roberts, mentioned the possibility of allowing gun-free zones in particularly vulnerable areas.

The lawsuit, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, was filed on behalf of two rural upstate New York gun owners, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, who said their constitutional rights were violated when they were denied the permits they had, asked to carry a firearm for “self defense”. Nash, for his part, cited a series of recent robberies in his neighborhood and said he had been trained in the use of firearms.

Most states impose little or no restrictions on transportation permits. New York law, in place since 1911, gave local law enforcement much leeway in determining who is eligible, requiring applicants to show that they are “of good moral character” and “have a legally recognized reason for wanting to own or carry a firearm.”

Applicants had been specifically asked to show “adequate cause,” which could include providing substantial evidence that they faced a real and active threat to their safety.

In addition to New York, seven other “good cause” states (California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island) have some sort of qualification for who is eligible to carry a gun in public, which ranges from about 83 million Americans.

Several of these states are home to major American cities, including New York City (population 8.2 million), Los Angeles (population 4 million), Boston (population 689,000), and Baltimore (population 602,000). The two plaintiffs, Nash and Koch, are from Rensselaer County, population 159,000.

Gun control advocates fear the new court ruling will lead to more people walking busy city streets and entering those cities’ public transportation systems with loaded firearms. They point to the potential for disaster with multiple permitted firearms floating around in New York City subways, in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, or during the Boston Marathon.

The eight states with such restrictions have low rates of gun violence, according to an analysis by Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun control nonprofit funded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

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