As you’d imagine, New York Times columnist Gail Collins supports national concealed carry reciprocity like ISIS supports clothing optional beaches. Collins’ editorial A Gun on Every Corner is cookie-cutter anti-gun alarmism, based on bog-standard East Coast liberal elitism. How can we allow gun owners from Mississippi – Mississippi! – to carry in cultured, urbane New York? Why, “a permit to carry a concealed weapon from Mississippi is [merely] concrete proof of the owner’s ability to fill out an application.” (Props for conceding basic literacy skills.) Untrained, bible-clinging, gun-toting southern racist rednecks on the Upper East Side? The latte-fueled mind boggles! Here’s the most interesting bit of Collins’ dietribe [sic] . . .
In many crowded cities, gun safety means there’s almost nobody carrying but the cops. But it’s impossible to keep that kind of order when people are roaming the streets waving out-of-town gun permits, which local police frequently have no way to verify.
Anti-gunners living in liberal enclaves can’t abide the idea of citizens packing heat in their “gun free zones.” Out-of-towners? To quote Scatman Crothers, that’s crazy! It’s outrageous! Or, to put Collins’ desire to live in a world where nobody but the cops carry a gun into some sort of historical perspective, VE MUST HAF ORDER!
Note: Collins didn’t sing the praises of crowded cites where “nobody [is] carrying but the cops.” She said, “almost nobody.”
Perhaps the New York Times writer’s carving out rhetorical space for her boss, one of the handful of New York City residents with a concealed carry license. Or maybe she’s conceding the existence of armed criminals in crowded cities. I wonder if there’s something law-abiding citizens could use to protect themselves against these criminals. Oh right. They have to rely on armed police keeping order.
Also notice the hyperbole. “People . . . roaming the streets waving out-of-town gun permits.” Why would out-of-town visitors roam the streets – unless they’re looking for a Big City curmudgeon who respects Americans’ natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. (Good luck with that.)
By the same token, why would out-of-towners (shudder) “wave” their gun permits during this search? Ms. Collins is obviously unfamiliar with expression “concealed means concealed.” As for the idea that cops “frequently” have no way to verify an out-of-state concealed carry permit, someone should tell Ms. Collins that stop-‘n-frisk is no longer standard policy in The City That Never Sleeps.
One other part of Collins’ editorial merits mention: Senator Charles Schumer’s contribution.
“You say: ‘Look, maybe this works in the rural parts of your state but it doesn’t work in Times Square,’ ” said Schumer. “They’re not even open to the argument.”
Huh. So Schumer doesn’t think concealed carry works in rural parts of his state. Perhaps The Empire State Senator’s forgotten that rural New York exists. Never mind acknowledging the fact that rural New Yorkers would like nothing better than to see a national reciprocity law, so as to ding downstate’s anti-gun extremism. Let’s start the “argument” with that.
Collins’ editorial ends on a morose note; she painfully predicts that a National Concealed Carry Reciprocity bill will eventually hit the President’s desk. “Maybe our best hope is that Congress will do what it does best and fail to pass any legislation whatsoever for the rest of the year.” I hate to say it, but that’s a really tempting compromise . . .