NEW YORK: It will soon be illegal to carry a firearm, even concealed, in the famous Times Square area and other public places in New York City and State, authorities announced on Wednesday.
The New York Legislature passed — and its Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul signed it — legislation restricting gun ownership in sensitive locations earlier this year, and it goes into effect Thursday.
It was part of a reaction to a late June ruling by the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court that upheld the right of Americans to leave their homes armed, overturning a 1913 New York law that restricted the carrying of weapons to fire.
“The decision of the Supreme Court of the United States … was the shot heard around the world that aimed to the death for the safety of all New Yorkers,” said the city’s Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, to reporters.
“New York City will defend itself against this ruling and, starting tomorrow, new eligibility requirements for concealed carry permit applicants and restrictions on carrying concealed weapons in ‘sensitive locations,’ such as Times Square, will go into effect,” said Adams, a former police officer.
The mayor unveiled a “Times Square: Gun Free Zone” sign that will be hung by Thursday in and around the iconic square in the heart of Manhattan, where giant electronic billboards are lit up day and night for the 50 million of visitors who flock there each year. .
The governor of the fourth US state added that weapons, even if concealed, will be prohibited in “bars, libraries, schools, government buildings and hospitals, among other places”.
Hochul said she refuses “to give up my right as governor to protect New Yorkers from gun violence or any other form of harm. In New York State, we will continue to lead the way and to implement common sense gun safety legislation.
The restrictions do not apply to law enforcement officers.
The New York Legislature passed — and its Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul signed it — legislation restricting gun ownership in sensitive locations earlier this year, and it goes into effect Thursday.
It was part of a reaction to a late June ruling by the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court that upheld the right of Americans to leave their homes armed, overturning a 1913 New York law that restricted the carrying of weapons to fire.
“The decision of the Supreme Court of the United States … was the shot heard around the world that aimed to the death for the safety of all New Yorkers,” said the city’s Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, to reporters.
“New York City will defend itself against this ruling and, starting tomorrow, new eligibility requirements for concealed carry permit applicants and restrictions on carrying concealed weapons in ‘sensitive locations,’ such as Times Square, will go into effect,” said Adams, a former police officer.
The mayor unveiled a “Times Square: Gun Free Zone” sign that will be hung by Thursday in and around the iconic square in the heart of Manhattan, where giant electronic billboards are lit up day and night for the 50 million of visitors who flock there each year. .
The governor of the fourth US state added that weapons, even if concealed, will be prohibited in “bars, libraries, schools, government buildings and hospitals, among other places”.
Hochul said she refuses “to give up my right as governor to protect New Yorkers from gun violence or any other form of harm. In New York State, we will continue to lead the way and to implement common sense gun safety legislation.
The restrictions do not apply to law enforcement officers.
