The state of New York has some of the most extensive gun control laws in the nation. Without the Bruen decision, they'd be even worse in many ways. They don't value the right to keep and bear arms up that way.
Which I suppose they have every right to not value it.
Where there's a problem is that they also infringe upon it. Regularly.
In the wake of Bruen, the elected officials took extensive steps to use what they could to make the carrying of a fiream with a permit as untenable as possible. They wanted to make it a pain in the butt to actually use your permit by declaring everything a gun-free zone they figure they could get away with.
Things like the subway system.
And, well, it hasn't worked out all that well.
Now, the head honcho at the MTA is calling for gun control because all the gun control already in effect covering the New York City subway system failed completely.
The head of the MTA expressed gratitude to the NYPD on Friday for their prompt response following a shooting on board an A train in Brooklyn and emphasized the need to remove guns from New York City.
...
In recent weeks, a surge in subway crimes prompted Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul to increase police patrols in the subway system, and Lieber said that strategy was crucial in apprehending the suspects in Thursday’s shooting.
“That plus of having cops in the system—and I heard that this morning from those riders I talked with on the train, they said, ‘We are seeing more cops’—that is a good thing,” he said.
Lieber said he now believes there needs to be a stronger push for public officials to prioritize “getting guns out of people’s hands” to prevent further incidents such as this.
He also encouraged New Yorkers to avoid involvement in dangerous situations in public spaces throughout the city.
“The emphasis on de-escalation, that is a New York thing. There are people who are willing to say, ‘Let's calm down, let's get it under control.’ And there were people on the train who did that, but once a gun is produced, the whole situation changes,” he said. “And we got to keep fighting back against this scourge of guns.”
I'm sorry, but "fighting back against this sourge of guns" made it so no law-abiding citizen on that subway train was armed and in a position to fight back. This "fighting back" has made it so that law-abiding citizens often don't even bother to get the tools to fight back simply because in a city the size of New York, there are about eight square feet where they can carry a firearm.
And yet, despite all that "fighting back," someone had a gun on the subway. Someone who was not a law-abiding citizen broke all those rules and then used that firearm because he wanted to.
Gun control failed, and this guy wants more of what didn't work.
"I'm using these essential oils to combat my cancer. They're not working, so I should just use more."
"These crystals are supposed to bring me wealth. I'm still broke, but when I've got money, I'll buy more crystals."
Those are the exact same thing as what Lieber is trying to do. There's this thing that doesn't work, but I want to believe it does, so I'll just keep doubling down on it until magic happens.
Pro tip: It won't.
The subway shooting was the result of someone who won't follow the rules refusing to follow the rules in a state with some of the most repressive gun control laws in the entire nation, behind only California.
More laws won't prevent the next shooting. What's more, I think Leiber knows this.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber wants to keep repeat offenders out of the subway.
"Last year we had 38 people who were arrested for 43 attacks on transit employees. Between them, they had well in excess of a thousand prior arrests, and yet they keep coming back." MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber
"We are saying and under the Governor's leadership we're saying to the DA's and the criminal justice system in general, it's time to figure out how to make sure that those people do not come back into transit," Lieber said.
So it sure looks like he knows this is a people problem versus a gun problem. Of course, he's a public official in New York City. He can't just say it's about people. He's got to espouse the party line and push the approved narrative.
But he also wants to restrict guns, and that's not a winning strategy when the problem is that so many of those who are attacking transit employees are likely to also be prohibited from owning firearms in the first place.
Gun control isn't the answer. It never will be, either.
