Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) made it clear on Wednesday that she would not allow facts and data to stand in the way of her claims that concealed carry permit-holders made New York a more dangerous place to live.
Hochul has spent the last week pushing back and promising action after the Supreme Court struck down a New York law restricting access to concealed carry permits to only those who could prove they needed in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen,
“We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officers some special need. That is not how the First Amendment works when it comes to unpopular speech or the free exercise of religion. It is not how the Sixth Amendment works when it comes to a defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him. And it is not how the Second Amendment works when it comes to public carry for self-defense,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the majority opinion, striking down a law that had been on the books in New York since 1911.
But Hochul responded to the Court’s decision by claiming that the idea of people being able to carry firearms for self-protection would make others feel “very unsafe.”
NY's @GovKathyHochul: People bearing arms for self-protection "makes everyone else feel very unsafe." pic.twitter.com/GJsIXvT6jQ
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 24, 2022
Hochul doubled down on her position on Wednesday, responding to a question challenging her claim.
Albany news anchor Anne McCloy asked Hochul to share the data that led her to believe it was concealed carry permit-holders who were causing problems.
WATCH:
Anne: Do you have numbers to show that it’s the concealed carry permit holders that are committing crimes?
Hochul: I don’t need to have numbers. I don’t need to have a data point to say this. I know that I have a responsibility for this state to have sensible gun safety laws. pic.twitter.com/NiCp7POO88
— Anne McCloy (@AnneMcCloyNews) June 29, 2022
“Do you have numbers to show that it’s the concealed carry permit holders that are committing crimes?” McCloy asked. “Because the lawful gun owner will say that you’re attacking the wrong person, it’s really people that are getting these guns illegally that are causing the violence, not the people going and getting the permit legally and that’s the basis for the whole Supreme Court argument. Do you have the numbers?”
“I don’t need to have numbers,” Hochul replied. “I don’t need to have a data point to point to to say this is gonna — All I know is that I have a responsibility to the people of this state to have sensible gun safety laws, and this one was not devised by the Hochul administration. It comes out of an administration from 1908. I don’t need a data point to make the case that I have a responsibility to protect the people of this state.”