New York: The Impact of Stearns bill (H.R. 822) on Concealed Carry Permitting  Bottom line: This bill would override the laws of almost every state by obliging each to accept concealed handgun carry permits from every other state, even if the permit holder would not be allowed to carry or even possess a handgun in the state where he or she is traveling. That policy would undercut states’ rights and create serious problems for law enforcement. For those reasons, Congress rejected similar legislation in 2009.  New York has a robust handgun concealed carry framework.  Federal law places baseline restrictions on gun possession. New York requires higher standards for concealed carry privileges than are covered by federal law or by the laws of a number of other states, including:  Prohibition on carrying by dangerous individuals: Individuals who have been convicted of a “serious offense,” including certain misdemeanors such as endangering the welfare of a child and certain types of assault, menacing, stalking, or sexual abuse.1  Firearm safety training requirement: Certain applicants2 must complete a course and test in firearm safety given by an authorized instructor.3  Age requirement: Applicants must be at least 21 years of age or have been honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces.4  Law enforcement discretion: New York law enforcement officers have broad discretion to approve or deny carry permits.5  Good character requirement: Applicants must be of “good moral character.”6  Good cause requirement: Applicants must have proper cause for carrying a handgun, as evidenced by “a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community or of persons engaged in the same profession.”7  Resident requirement: Applicants must be residents of or principally employed in New York State.8  The Stearns bill will effectively overturn New York’s concealed carry laws by allowing concealed carrying by people who cannot meet New York’s standards.  Non-Resident Carrying: New York does not honor the carry permits of any other state. The Stearns bill would override New York’s decisions and allow concealed gun carrying in New York by people with permits from the 47 states that issue such permits9 – many of which issue permits to people with violent misdemeanor criminal convictions, no firearms safety training, who are under the age of 21, or who do not have good character or a good cause to carry, or which do not grant any discretion to law enforcement to approve or deny carry permits.

 The Stearns bill would create serious and potentially life threatening situations for law enforcement officers.  Danger Posed to Law Enforcement at Traffic Stops:  By making it more difficult to verify the validity of permits and distinguish legal from illegal handgun possession, H.R. 822 would expose police to additional danger, especially when stopping cars. For example, H.R. 822 would enable criminal traffickers to travel to out of state gun markets with loaded handguns in the glove compartment, exposing police to unnecessary danger.  Weakens Law Enforcement’s Ability to Detect Criminals:  Inability to prevent gun trafficking: Gun traffickers who have concealed carry permits would be able to bring cars or backpacks full of guns into destination states and present their permit if stopped. As a practical matter, to arrest the traffickers, police would have to observe them in the act of selling guns.  Inability to determine if individuals are in compliance with laws of other states: H.R. 822 would make it almost impossible for law enforcement to know who is allowed to carry a concealed weapon. Police would have to recognize every state’s concealed carry permits. Criminals could exploit the law by forging permits from distant states.  In 2009, the Senate defeated the Thune Amendment, a similar legislative proposal to preempt state concealed carry laws.  Who Opposes National Concealed Carry Reciprocity?  Mayors: Over 600 members of the bipartisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, including the following New York Mayors: Mayor Gerald Jennings - Albany, NY Mayor Gerald Jennings - Albany, NY Mayor James Gaughan - Altamont, NY Mayor Ann Thane - Amsterdam, NY Mayor William Roderick - Arkport, NY Mayor Andrea Smallwood - Athens, NY Mayor Steve Gold - Beacon, NY Mayor Donna Sherrer - Bellerose, NY Mayor Matthew T. Ryan - Binghamton, NY Mayor Eugene Christopher - Broadalbin, NY Mayor Byron Brown - Buffalo, NY Mayor Leigh Fuller - Canajoharie, NY Mayor G. Wayne McIlroy - Carthage, NY Mayor Jerome Kobre - Chestnut Ridge, NY Mayor John A. Lane - Clinton, NY Mayor John McDonald - Cohoes, NY Mayor Mark Evans - Coxsackie, NY Mayor Robert J. Foster - Deferiet, NY Mayor Sally Burns - Delanson, NY Mayor Barbara Alberti - Depew, NY

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Mayor Randy Sterling - Dryden, NY Mayor Allan A. Kasprzak - East Aurora, NY Mayor Paul Rickenbach - East Hampton, NY Mayor Henry Doerr - Elbridge, NY Mayor Jeffrey Kaplan - Ellenville, NY Mayor James Matthews - Ellisburg, NY New York members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, cont’d Mayor Stephen G. Sommers - Fabius, NY Mayor Mark Olson - Fayetteville, NY Mayor James J. Miccio - Fishkill, NY Mayor Charles Weiss - Flower Hill, NY Mayor Andrew Hardwick - Freeport, NY Mayor John Diamond - Glens Falls, NY Mayor Dayton J. King - Gloversville, NY Mayor Dorothy Vorce - Gouverneur, NY Mayor Jean A. Celender - Great Neck Plaza, NY Mayor Ralph J. Kreitzman - Great Neck Village, NY Mayor Barbara Moore - Greenwood Lake, NY Mayor Martin Natoli - Hagaman, NY Mayor Emery Cummings, Jr. - Hammondsport, NY Mayor LeRoy V. Davis - Harrisville, NY Mayor Michael Kohut - Haverstraw, NY Mayor Natale J. Tartamella - Head of the Harbor, NY Mayor Wayne J. Hall Sr. - Hempstead, NY Mayor Richard Beirman Sr. - Herrings, NY Mayor Bernard Jackson - Hillburn, NY Mayor Joseph M. Lee - Hilton, NY Mayor Michael McDermott - Homer, NY Mayor Shawn Hogan - Hornell, NY Mayor Richard Scalera - Hudson, NY Mayor Carolyn Peterson - Ithaca, NY Mayor Samuel Teresi - Jamestown, NY Mayor Susan Lopatkin - Kensington, NY Mayor James Sottile - Kingston, NY Mayor Robert Blais - Lake George, NY Mayor Ronald S. Cooper - Lake Success, NY Mayor Joshua Mandell - Larchmont, NY Mayor Carl Luft - Lima, NY Mayor Robert Peters - Little Falls, NY Mayor Corrine Kleisle - Lyons, NY Mayor Barbara Clark - Madison, NY Mayor Brent S. Stewart - Malone, NY Mayor Patricia McDonald - Malverne, NY Mayor Mark-Paul Serafin - Manlius, NY

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Mayor Michael T. Meehan - Manorhaven, NY Mayor James F. Hidy - Massena, NY Mayor Dennis Leahy - Maybrook, NY Mayor Anthony Sylvester - Mechanicville, NY Mayor Terry Grimshaw - Mexico, NY Mayor William McCabe - Middleburgh, NY New York members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, cont’d Mayor Elizabeth Schrader - Middleville, NY Mayor Richard J. Donovan - Minoa, NY Mayor Jeffrey Oppenheim - Montebello, NY Mayor Gordon Jenkins - Monticello, NY Mayor Clinton Young - Mount Vernon, NY Mayor Don Braun - Naples, NY Mayor Donald J. Ryan - New Hartford, NY Mayor Noam Bramson - New Rochelle, NY Mayor Mike Bloomberg - New York, NY Mayor Peter M. Blandino - Newark, NY Mayor Nicholas Valentine - Newburgh, NY Mayor Paul A. Dyster - Niagara Falls, NY Mayor Laura Nolan - North Haven, NY Mayor Marvin Natiss - North Hills, NY Mayor Joseph Maiurano - Norwich, NY Mayor Curtis Simmons - Nunda, NY Mayor Richard A. Kavesh - Nyack, NY Mayor Linda Witte - Olean, NY Mayor Richard P. Miller, Jr. - Oneonta, NY Mayor William R. Hanauer - Ossining, NY Mayor Brian Wona - Otisville, NY Mayor Edward Arrington - Owego, NY Mayor Victoria W. Daly - Palmyra, NY Mayor Mary Foster - Peekskill, NY Mayor Anthony Fratto - Phoenix, NY Mayor Chris Sanders - Piermont, NY Mayor Donald M. Kasprzak - Plattsburgh, NY Mayor Robert Weitzner - Port Washington, NY Mayor John Tkazyik - Poughkeepsie, NY Mayor John Bruno - Ravena, NY Mayor Daniel J. Dwyer - Rensselaer, NY Mayor Kevin Neary - Richmondville, NY Mayor Susan Ben-Moshe - Roslyn Estates, NY Mayor Matthew Bloomfield - Russell Gardens, NY Mayor Jeffrey L. Pond - Salamanca, NY Mayor Leonard Wurzel - Sands Point, NY Mayor Grant Rohrmoser - Sandy Creek, NY

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Mayor Clyde Rabideau - Saranac Lake, NY Mayor Gregge Harrian - Savona, NY Mayor Carolyn Stevens - Scarsdale, NY Mayor Paul F. Gee - Scottsville, NY Mayor Diana Smith - Seneca Falls, NY Mayor Omer Cousineau - Sharon Springs, NY New York members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, cont’d Mayor John Patterson - Sherman, NY Mayor Joseph P. Shay - Sherrill, NY Mayor Leonard Szymanski - Sloan, NY Mayor Carl Wright - Sloatsburg, NY Mayor Karen Strickland - South Dayton, NY Mayor Geoffrey N. Prime - South Floral Park, NY Mayor Patricia DuBow - South Nyack, NY Mayor Mark Epley - Southampton, NY Mayor Neil McGovern - Speculator, NY Mayor Joyce Lobene - Spencerport, NY Mayor Noramie F. Jasmin - Spring Valley, NY Mayor Edward Stewart III - Sylvan Beach, NY Mayor Stephanie A. Miner - Syracuse, NY Mayor Ronald Pilozzi - Tonawanda, NY Mayor John Fitzpatrick - Tuckahoe, NY Mayor Beth Greenwood - Tully, NY Mayor Michael Esmay - Upper Nyack, NY Mayor David Roefaro - Utica, NY Mayor Brian Maher - Walden, NY Mayor Theodore H. Young - Waterloo, NY Mayor Michael Manning - Watervliet, NY Mayor Brian D. McCoy - Wayland, NY Mayor David Goldsmith - Wesley Hills, NY Mayor Scott M. Burto - West Carthage, NY Mayor John Ramundo - West Haverstraw, NY Mayor David Carr - Westfield, NY Mayor Brenda D. Gilberti - Whitesboro, NY Mayor Ludwig Odierna - Williston Park, NY Mayor John W. Monson - Wolcott, NY Mayor Phil Amicone - Yonkers, NY Mayor Anthony C. Leone Jr. – Yorkville, NY National Law Enforcement organizations, including: International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Latino Peace Officers Association and National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Organizations, and the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which includes the Police Chiefs of Buffalo and Nassau County. Other New York law enforcement officials were opposed to the Thune amendment, including:

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, New York Police Department – New York, NY Police Chief James W. Tuffey, Albany Police Department – Albany, NY Police Commissioner Edmund Hartnett – Yonkers, NY District Attorney Robert T. Johnson – Bronx County, NY District Attorney Charles J. Hynes – Kings County, NY Former District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau – New York County, NY Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget B. Brennan – New York, NY District Attorney Richard A. Brown – Queens County, NY District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. – Richmond County, NY N.Y. Penal Law §§ 400.00(1)(c); 265.00(17)(b) (defining “serious offense”); 260.10 (endangering the welfare of a child); 120.00 (third degree assault); 120.14 (second degree menacing); 120.50 (third degree stalking); 130.60 (second degree sexual abuse). 2 Only applicants located in Westchester County must meet this requirement. 3 N.Y. Penal Law § 400.00(1)(f). 4 N.Y. Penal Law § 400.00(1)(a). 5 N.Y. Penal Law § 400.00(1)(g). For those applying for a New York City permit, the New York Police Department (NYPD) has broad discretion to approve or deny permits and considers factors such as whether the applicant has ever been arrested for any misdemeanor crime; has or is reasonably believed to have a disability or condition that may affect the ability to safely possess or use a handgun, such as alcoholism or mental illness; has a history of domestic violence; has a lack of concern for the safety of oneself or others; or other good cause for the denial of the license. New York, N.Y., R.C.N.Y. tit. 38, ch. 5, § 5-10. 6 N.Y. Penal Law § 400.00(1)(b). For those applying for a New York City permit, the NYPD’s evaluation of an applicant’s “good moral character” considers the same “proper cause” factors listed above. New York, N.Y., R.C.N.Y. tit. 38, ch. 5, § 5-10. 7 N.Y. Penal Law § 400.00(2)(f). For those applying for a New York City permit, the NYPD considers factors such as whether the applicant has been exposed by reason of employment to “extraordinary personal danger,” or can prove “recurrent threats to life or safety.” New York, N.Y., R.C.N.Y. tit. 38, ch. 5, § 5-03. 8 N.Y. Penal Law § 400.00(3)(a). 9 This number includes Wisconsin, which has enacted a carry permit scheme that will take effect November 1, 2011. 1