NYC’s City Council Public Safety Committee voted Monday to give gun permit applicants a written health warning on the dangers of firearms prior to issuing the permit.
The vote comes less than a month after Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D) suggested the October 1 Las Vegas attack merited even more gun restrictions in NYC.
On October 3, Mark-Viverito announced:
The pain that comes with these incidents has become far too common, yet our federal law makers refuse to take action. We in the City will take action by passing legislation aimed at keeping our fellow New Yorkers safe from gun violence. …We as New Yorkers are doing our part to continue to toughen our restrictions and through the legislation that we will hear later this month, we will require the NYPD to disclose prior to issuing a license or permit, the increased risk of suicide, death during domestic violence disputes and unintentional deaths to children. We would be the first major jurisdiction to require this kind of warning. Similar to how cigarette warnings have changed how we think about the dangers of smoking, these types of warnings would change how we think about the dangers of guns. I would hope that this most recent tragedy will embolden local jurisdictions to protect their citizens by passing similar legislation and opposing pending federal legislation that would make all of us less safe.
On October 30, the New York Post reported that the Council Public Safety Committee voted 6-1 in support of the health warnings. They would be given to permit applicants by the NYPD.
After the vote, Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson (D) echoed Speaker Mark-Viverito, saying, “Just like the warning that you see on the side of cigarette packs have changed the perception of smoking, these gun warnings are the first step to changing the public’s conversation [on guns].”
The Council Public Safety Committee also passed a resolution condemning national reciprocity for concealed carry permit holders. Legislation revolving around national reciprocity is currently sitting in the U.S. House, languishing under House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) for a 43rd consecutive week.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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