Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Concealed Carry Improvement Act. The governor responded to the landmark 6-to-3 ruling, which determined the Second Amendment’s guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms extends to protecting people who wish to carry a weapon in public by enforcing a series of invasive pistol restrictions prohibiting the carrying of guns in a host of public locations labeled “sensitive.”
Among the no-gun zones under the law are places of worship, casinos, bars, subways and Times Square. In a state plagued by crime and repeated scenes of rallies valorizing terrorism, the Concealed Carry Improvement Act undermines the safety of lawful citizens and New York’s Jewish population, which is experiencing a spike in antisemitic incidents.
Earlier this year, a New York Police Department report confirmed that the city’s five boroughs saw an antisemitic event every 36 hours, with that figure surging since the Oct. 7 terrorist massacre in Israel by Hamas. A Siena College poll released this month also found that 73% of New York voters believe Jews in the state are experiencing a “great deal or some” antisemitism.
While perhaps well intentioned, Mrs. Hochul’s recent announcement of $75 million in extra security funding for religious institutions and grant money to help police solve hate crimes renders New Yorkers at the mercy of the government for protection. The state is also home to lax enforcement of criminal laws and retains some of the most restrictive gun regulations in the country, leaving Jewish Americans ill-equipped to defend themselves.
Moreover, solving anti-Jewish crimes does little to address a permissive criminal culture, which leaves perpetrators of antisemitic assaults greeting a progressive justice system once caught for their offenses. Absent armed protection, law-abiding New Yorkers are powerless to defend themselves against the risk that the chorus of hate-fueled mobs will carry out their intimidating calls for death and destruction.
— Irit Tratt in New York Gun Laws Undermine Jews’ Safety
