By Bill Parry
Members of New York’s congressional delegation joined law enforcement and gun safety advocates at City Hall Saturday to slam House passage of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which require all states to honor a permit to carry a concealed firearm from any other state, regardless of how relaxed those state permitting laws may be.
The Republican legislation, supported by the National Rifle Association, would undermine New York State’s strict weapons laws.
“If guns made us safe, we’d be the safest country in the world,” U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) said. “Instead, we have a gun violence epidemic in this country and it is glaringly obvious to anyone paying attention that our pathetically weak federal gun safety laws need major improvements. That is why it is so tragic that House Republicans caved to the demands of the NRA and passed the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, a bill that will put more lives at risk rather than make our country safer.
“Under this bill, someone who couldn’t get a concealed carry permit in New York would be able to carry a concealed weapon in New York City with a permit from another state. New York has some of the most effective gun laws in the country, but this bill would eviscerate state laws intended to keep our residents safe from gun violence.”
The bill, known as H.R. 38, is the first legislation action taken on guns in Congress since the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting that killed 58 and the Nov. 5 murder of 26 churchgoers in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
“The CCRA would put every American at the mercy of the weakest gun laws in the country, undermining states’ rights and endangering us all,” Maloney said. “It is despicable that the first action on guns that Congress took after the massacres in Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs was to pass a bill that will enable more people to get more guns and erode current gun safety laws.”
The bill is headed to the Senate.
“This disastrous and foolish piece of legislation has the potential to reverse historic gains in public safety that we’ve achieved in New York City,” Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. called the CCRA “such a silly law,” warning it would endanger law enforcement officers and citizens alike, turning routine interactions into potentially hazardous and unpredictable situations.
“Republicans in Congress have failed to protect Americans and reduce the horror and heartbreak of gun violence,” U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) said. “Instead, it will undermine sensible state gun-safety laws by allowing dangerous and violent individuals to secretly carry powerful firearms like those used in the Orlando and Las Vegas mass shootings. American families want to feel safe and secure in our churches, our schools, our communities, and our homes. Democrats won’t rest until it becomes a reality.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
