New York City Wrestles with Enforcing No-Gun Zones

In response to the recent Supreme Court ruling that New York’s laws requiring “proper cause” to obtain a gun carry permit violated the U.S. Constitution, Albany lawmakers have crafted the Concealed Carry Improvement Act to restrict the number of legally permitted guns in public effectively, but now authorities are wrestling with the details of where to enforce these new rules, reports The City. For example, the law leaves the definition of Times Square up to the “city of New York” and requires that however it’s defined, the “area shall be clearly and conspicuously identified with signage.”

A crucial aspect of the law is to provide permit applicants with clear information about where they can and can’t carry their legally permitted guns during newly required training sessions. The new law declares as a “sensitive location” any “grounds, owned or leased, of any educational institutions, colleges and universities.” In addition, all private-sector locations are now presumptively gun-free “restrictive locations,” where permitted guns are not allowed unless the property owner declares the premises explicitly to be gun-friendly. NYPD patrol officers answering calls currently have to know whether a building they’re entering in response to a 911 call is gun-free or gun-friendly.