A couple of years ago, the state of New York got spanked by the Supreme Court. Their requirement that those seeking a concealed carry permit show a good reason why they needed one was determined to be unconstitutional.

While they passed legislation that severely limited where people could carry, the truth was that a lot of people could get permits that might not have had them before.

Fast forward to now.

These days, the violent crime rate is dropping across the nation and has been for the last several years. 

And that's after the Bruen decision, of course.

But it seems that Hochul is claiming credit for New York's drop in homicides.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday that the state is turning the tide in the fight against gun violence.

The governor pointed to a two-year drop in incidents of gun violence, including a 37% reduction in shooting incidents in the state through the first four months of 2024, compared to a five-year average. Hochul also said that the New York State Police have seized illegal firearms at a record pace so far this year.

Statistics compiled by the state Department of Criminal Justice Services showed that shooting incidents with injury and the number of shooting victims have each decreased by more than 35% through April, compared to the January to April average over the last five years, in the major metropolitan areas outside of New York City.

...

Hochul hailed the significant drop in gun violence statistics.

“We enacted the toughest gun safety measures in the country and now we are seeing results: historic lows in gun violence across New York,” Hochul said. “Public safety is my number one priority, and I will continue fighting to create meaningful results and keep New Yorkers safe.”

This would be a lot easier to believe if we hadn't seen homicide rates drop everywhere else as well.

Oh, they might have had a deeper drop in New York just this particular year compared to elsewhere--and, for the record, we don't know that New York is actually unique in this regard, either--but the idea that tough gun control laws are responsible is beyond ridiculous.

And let's understand that I use the word "might" there because, as noted, I'm skeptical that it's particularly unique. After all, we know that a number of places saw similar percentage drops in violent crime after their states passed constitutional carry.

While I'm not ready to say definitively that constitutional carry is why it dropped, it's kind of the opposite end of the spectrum from what Hochul is claiming, and yet, we see similar drops with opposing laws put in place.

In short, the reduction of homicides is nationwide and Hochul had absolutely nothing to do with it.

But Hochul doesn't want people to understand that. She's hoping that New Yorkers will look at the drop, look at the law's passage--despite this drop happening after Bruen ended may-issue laws mind you--and never bother to look any further.

And, to be fair, with a media unwilling to challenge her or even include a real effort at rebuttal, they'll probably swallow it hook, line, and sinker.