Amidst increased crime due to the release of criminals from prison early due to the COVID-19 epidemic and a policy that allows rioters free rein, gun and ammo purchases have skyrocketed. New York City is no different in that the number of residents wishing to own a gun to protect their home or business has climbed dramatically. However, that right to own a gun for self-protection in the home is being denied many in America's largest city, as approvals to own a gun plummet.
In order to keep a gun in their home or business, New York City has created a byzantine process that costs hundreds of dollars (non-refundable, if they deny your request), takes months and requires multiple, often daylong, trips to police headquarters. All of this to exercise a constitutionally protected right that the Supreme Court has identified as central to the Second Amendment.
Now, a New York Post report reveals that the approval rate for keeping a gun at your home or business has plummeted from nearly 70 percent to less than 14 percent.
The dramatic drop comes despite an alarming spike in shootings, which are up almost 98 percent this year, and murders, which have risen about 39 percent, according to NYPD data.
In pure numerical terms, between March 22, and Dec. 23, 2020, 8,088 new applications were submitted for so-called premises permits. That compares to a mere 2,562 permits submitted for the same time period a year earlier.
These are not the nearly-impossible-to-get "carry" permits which allow people to carry a gun practically anywhere within the city limits and are practically impossible to get unless you're rich and famous. No, these are permits which only allow you to keep a gun in your home or business. If you want to travel with your gun from your home to your business or vice versa, you must unload it and carry it in a locked container—not exactly handy if you need to defend yourself in a pinch.
An NYPD source familiar with the situation said the License Division was too short-staffed to deal with the flood of new applications and also blamed an unofficial reluctance to process them.
“The politicians are generally against giving licenses, to begin with, so it’s not a priority,” the source said.
An NYPD spokesperson wasn’t able to immediately answer questions about the disparity.
This is what happens when the government prefers its public policy outcomes over the enumerated rights granted the people by the constitution, and the courts allow them to get away with it.
While not directly on point, the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation have filed a lawsuit on New York City's even-more-draconian carry permit ban. A pro-Second Amendment ruling in that case, Greco v. City of New York, would undoubtedly cause the city's premises permit to change drastically as well.
