Since 1976, New York City residents who wish to obtain a gun license must apply in person at NYPD headquarters Licensing Division in lower Manhattan and furnish a non-refundable fee of $340. That license must be renewed at the same cost every three years. More importantly, the application process requires extensive background checks and personal interviews that go far beyond the reasonable degree of detail in comparison with the requirements of obtaining a firearm license in other states. Ultimately, gun license applications are virtually always denied in new York City, even to private citizens with no criminal history who are perfectly eligible to own firearms under the laws of other states.
Generally, it is common knowledge in New York City that applying for a handgun permit is futile except for highly politically connected individuals, those whose occupations involve regularly transporting large amounts of cash or valuables (such as jewelers and owners of cash businesses),.and high profile individuals with a history of documented threats against their personal safety. Last week, the Supreme Court decision in Heller may have framed a challenge to these administrative laws that, in practice, operate as a ban on private gun ownership.
Implications of Heller:
The Heller case ruled...
Constitution does indeed grant a right to private citizens, rather than just to organized state militias, to own firearms. He Court acknowledged the right of states to require compliance with reasonable administrative policies limiting who may legally possess a firearm, but ruled that outright bans, such as those in the District of Columbia that prohibited gun ownership outright indeed violate the Second Amendment.
It is now anticipated that the administrative laws of New York City will be challenged by pro-gun ownership groups. The crux of their argument will be that New York City may not achieve constitutionally impermissible bans through administrative rules that are so strict they operate as a ban, in their effect. Ultimately, the dramatic reduction in crime and gun-related violence in New York City in the last several decades will result in much greater public support for private gun ownership than would have been possible under pre-1976 conditions. REFERENCES
Schwartz, E.A Key Case on Gun Control: In a landmark case, the Supreme Court considers just how far the Second Amendment's freedoms go; U.S. News & World Report, July 2, 2008. Retrieved June 30, 2008 from: www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/03/06/a-key-case-on-gun-control.html
