I’ll confess right up front that I’m not really a gala kind of guy. My idea of dressing up is wearing a shirt with buttons and a pair of jeans that don’t have dirt stains on them, so the idea of putting on formal wear and hanging out with a bunch of self-centered, narcissistic celebrities and “influencers” is about as appealing to me as getting a colonoscopy and a root canal at the same time. Monday night’s Met Gala in New York City did nothing to change my mind, especially after New York City Mayor Eric Adams decided to channel his inner AOC and use his appearance to virtue signal during last night’s soiree.

Bringing a little swagger back to the #MetGala!

Honored to be here. pic.twitter.com/PuyOfy6FmQ

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) May 3, 2022

Swagger? Really?

As it turns out, even fans of the glitterati weren’t all that impressed with Adams’ couture, with the mayor getting some heat over his outfit.

The tuxedo jacket featured iconic features of New York, such as the Brooklyn Bridge. The jacket also displays a large handgun with a red slash through it.

Adams’ Met Gala look was designed by Brooklyn-based artist Laolu Senbanjo, according to Bloomberg.

“The goal is to end gun violence and save our children,” Adams told Bloomberg.

Adams’ tuxedo jacket drew mixed responses online, with the majority criticizing his outfit choice.

For good reason. Adams ran for office promising to get tough on violent crime. But in the months since he’s taken office, things in New York City have only gotten worse.

For the month of March 2022, New York City saw a 15.8% drop in homicides compared to March 2021 (32 v. 38), as NYPD officers effected 28.2% more arrests in the seven major index crime categories (4,025 v. 3,140) in that same period.

Overall index crime increased by 36.5% in March 2022, compared to the same period a year ago (9,873 v. 7,232) – a total driven by a 59.4% increase in grand larceny auto (1,044 v. 655), a 48.4% increase in robbery (1,267 v. 854), and a 40.5% increase in grand larceny (4,078 v. v. 2,902). Citywide burglaries also increased by 40% (1,326 v. 947) in March 2022 compared to last year.

Citywide shooting incidents increased by 16.2% (115 v. 99) in March 2022 compared with the same period last year. The NYPD remains focused on eradicating gun violence and delivering just, effective policing. Officers made 410 gun arrests in March 2022, driving the 1,207 arrests for illegal firearms in the first quarter of 2022. This is the highest number of quarterly gun arrests since early 2021, when 1,385 such arrests were made.

Not to discount the dip in the city’s homicide rate, but clearly that’s one of the few bright spots that Adams can point to at the moment. With shootings, robberies, burglaries, and grand larceny all up by more than 40% compared to March of last year, it’s no surprise that many New Yorkers say they don’t feel safe once they leave their home.

With his choice of attire on Monday evening, Adams has once again made it clear that he believes guns are the biggest problem in New York City, which is a problem in and of itself for the mayor, given that the Supreme Court is likely to rule in the coming weeks that New Yorkers have the same right to bear arms in self-defense as any other American. Adams is never going to “end gun violence” by declaring a war on guns. Instead, the focus has to be on the relatively small number of human beings who misuse firearms in the commission of violent crime.

Rather than a handgun with a circle and a line across it, Adams’ outfit should have featured a jail cell and the phrase “Lock ’em up”. Better yet, Adams could have avoided the Met Gala altogether and spent Monday night in Queens.talking to residents about their increasing concerns over their personal safety. Of course if he did that he might have learned that a lot of New Yorkers are eager to start exercising their right to bear arms in self-defense, and that wouldn’t have been nearly as enjoyable for him as a star-studded (and well-guarded) gala full of New Yorkers who agree with him that the average citizen is better off unarmed and helpless.