By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A writer at the Foundation for Free Economic Education (FEE) has taken Empire State Democrats to task for stubbornly sticking to failed gun control policies in response to spiking gun-related homicides, especially in New York City.
“Gun control has not only failed to make a dent in crime, as evidenced by New York’s own “epidemic” among others, it has cost many innocent people their lives as well,” says Hannah Cox, the FEE content manager and brand ambassador in her scathing opinion column.
She takes special aim at the recent executive order on guns issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in response to the Empire State’s uptick in deadly gun-related crime, especially in New York City.
“Gun control proponents may never admit the numerous failures under their policies,” Cox observes, “but executive orders like this one spell it out loud and clear. Sometimes actions speak louder than words.”
This is very similar to a report about gun-related homicides in Washington State that appeared recently in AmmoLand News. In the Evergreen State after passage of two anti-gun-rights initiatives in recent years (2014 and 2018) the number of homicides hasn’t declined and the number of killings in Seattle has more than doubled. Liberty Park Press checked this week with the Seattle Police Department, learning there are already 24 murders in the city this year. That’s equal to the average annual number of slayings in recent years, but it is four less than for the same time last year.
Back at the other end of the country, Cox had some observations about Cuomo’s gun control strategies.
“For those who’ve followed the issue of gun control, many of these initiatives look familiar,” she notes. “They say if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Democrats seem to have taken that motto to heart as they continue to approach spikes in crime and gun violence with more of the same failed policies that led to the problem in the first place.”
Cox takes a swipe at New York gun laws, noting that in New York City “it is virtually impossible for anyone outside of law enforcement to obtain a gun permit—they often can’t even have them in their homes, much less on their person.”
This is one of the factors leading to the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association’s legal challenge to the state’s carry permit scheme, which is more focused on denying permits to citizens than it is to put them on equal footing with violent criminals, critics argue. That case will be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court in its next term, beginning in October. As reported previously by TGM, gun rights groups led by the Second Amendment Foundation have filed an amicus brief with the court, supporting NYSR&PA’s case.
A brief was also filed by the grassroots Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. The NYSR&PA is one of the Committee’s state affiliate organizations, so CCRKBA’s brief is a stand-alone that looks at the history of private citizens bearing arms for their personal protection, from Colonial times to the present.
According to New York City Police data, June saw 33 murders, which is down from the 43 murders reported in June 2020. So far this year, however, the city has racked up 213 slayings, which is up 21 victims from the 192 reported for the same period last year.
