Unfortunately, the department will not confirm how many of these gun license and concealed carry permit applications were approved. This despite clear guidance by the U.S. Supreme Court in reestablishing that law-abiding citizens have the constitutional right to carry for self-defense.
The high court determined in 2022’s landmark Bruen decision that the state’s regulations on carrying firearms were far too restrictive.
And it’s not just concealed carry that experienced the surge.
Applications to the NYPD License Division to have a rifle or handgun in the residence soared by 80% over 2022 to 13,369. That total is almost triple the number received in 2019.
Consider NYPD figures on concealed carry permit applications. In 2019, the year before the pandemic and three years before the Bruen decision, the department received only 258.
But in 2023 that number climbed to 6,751.
Even more telling are figures just from the first two months of 2024. The NYPD took in more applications for concealed carry permits in January and February than it did in 2019, 2020 and 2021 combined.
Still, the department is deathly quiet on the number of applications it approved. This could lead a critic to believe that New York officials are not in compliance with the high court’s specific guidance.
The Gothamist spoke with John Deloca, the owner of the Seneca Sporting Range in Ridgewood. He told the outlet that the number of people purchasing weapons and taking concealed carry permit classes is through the roof.
His customers are among those unconvinced by the rosy numbers quoted by city leaders. Instead, they see the staggering incidents of violent crimes perpetrated on city streets and in the subway system.
Deloca noted that the people are arming themselves “because everybody is out of control.”
And the people have a clear right to arm themselves. There is no other constitutionally protected freedom in New York that requires a training class, and still these sessions are full.
Now it is up to the authorities to clear what is likely a backlog of applications and allow the citizenry to enjoy their liberties. Without the Second Amendment’s assurance of the right to self-defense, the ability to exercise other freedoms may quickly become moot.
But New York and a handful of other states hostile to the Second Amendment did not fall in line with the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. Instead, it convened lawmakers to attempt to counteract the law of the land by imposing new restrictions.
In the case of the Empire State, it was the Concealed Carry Improvement Act that was passed shortly after Bruen.
Now there are even more impediments in place to the right to keep and bear arms. To obtain a concealed carry permit, individuals must demonstrate “good moral character” and successfully complete 18 hours of in-person safety training. The new law further established a laundry list of “sensitive places” where carrying a firearm is banned, including most public areas such as schools and even Times Square.
Of course, there are many challenges to the state’s egregious actions following Bruen, and it remains possible that the high court will once again have to address New York’s denial of fundamental rights.
One lawsuit targeted the NYPD’s licensing division for slow walking concealed carry permit applications. Officials are clearly in no rush to comply with the Supreme Court, and they may need to be forced into action through legal means.
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