Prior to the Bruen decision, New York City's gun control laws were so restrictive, it might as well have had a total gun ban in place. Only the very fortunate could get guns and that often required hiring an attorney to navigate the process, which meant only the wealthier people in the city could get one.
Leading up to Bruen, the state of New York tried to go scorched earth on lawful carry, and how well has it worked? Not particularly well.
As of September 30th, the NYPD has recovered nearly 5,000 firearms this year.
Precision policing strategies and other proactive efforts in New York City paid dividends in recent weeks and months as NYPD officers took more illegal guns off the streets and arrested the criminals carrying the weapons. During the month of September, NYPD officers seized 466 illegal firearms citywide, adding to the 4,938 guns recovered since the beginning of this year through Sept. 30, and the 18,533 guns seized since the start of this mayoral administration. While there were 14 additional shooting incidents in September 2024 compared to September 2023 (91 vs. 77), there were 21 fewer shooting incidents during the third quarter compared to the same quarter last year (256 vs. 277), and 66 fewer shootings incidents year to date (693 vs. 759) — translating to 41 fewer victims of gun violence in New York City this year. Likewise, 35 fewer people have been murdered in New York City year to date (277 vs. 312), an 11.2 percent decrease over last year at this time. In addition to the 3,195 people arrested in New York City for illegally possessing firearms this year through Sept. 30, arrests for all major index crimes increased by 9.1 percent year to date (43,510 vs. 39,887), by 5.2 percent in the month of September compared to the same month last year (4,675 vs. 4,445), and by 7 percent during the third quarter (14,854 vs. 13,883).
While most violent crimes are down, it seems rape is up over 38 percent, which isn't really a great trade-off in my opinion.
Now, let's provide some framing for a moment here, because I like to hit media outlets that refuse to do that.
New York City has a population of around 8.3 million people. This accounts for only a tiny fraction of the population, to be fair. However, let's also think about this in a broader sense.
We keep hearing about the epidemic of so-called ghost guns, but there were only about 25,000 of those recovered at crime scenes in 2022 for the entire nation.
One-fifth as many guns (of all kinds, to be fair) were recovered in the first nine months of the year in just one city.
Maybe it's just me, but it sure looks like New York's extensive gun control laws aren't really accomplishing all that much. After all, if 25,000 or so guns throughout the nation is a plague, then nearly 5,000 in just one city for three-quarters of the year sure looks like a much bigger issue.
Yet let's understand that while New York officials will probably try to blame other states for their issues, those guns are going to come from somewhere because everyone in the city and state is too focused on guns and not on why there's a demand for them in the first place.
Those nearly 5,000 folks weren't just issued guns on the street corner. They wanted them. They generally sought them out. They paid money for them or they stole them outright.
In any situation, though, they had a desire for a gun despite the laws surrounding them.
And nothing in New York seems to be about curbing the desire or need for an illegal gun. Nothing focuses on the fact that crimes are committed by people.
As long as there's a demand for guns, there will be a supply. It's sad how many people seem to think that if Georgia or whatever state is the problem today were to enact New York-style gun control then the guns would just suddenly stop. Because restrictions on Fentanyl have certainly stopped the opioid epidemic, right?
