July 26, 2009

New York long ago decided that not every person who thinks it would be neat to pack some heat should get a gun permit in this state. New Yorkers who like it that way can breathe a little easier after the U.S. Senate rejected an amendment to a defense bill that would have allowed untold numbers of people to legally come here with concealed weapons.    

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, a state with one-twenty-third of New York's population, effectively sought to impose the weakest gun laws in the nation on states with some of the strongest.

Here's hoping that this is the last we'll see of such ideas. But, with only two votes deciding the matter, mid-term elections around the corner and the National Rifle Association undoubtedly looking to patch some of its now-wounded clout, it won't likely be.

In Mr. Thune's view, apparently, what's good for Pierre is good for New York City. Perhaps it didn't occur to Mr. Thune that the dynamics of a city of 14,000 might be a little different than those in one of 8 million. Or in Los Angeles, or Chicago. Or, for that matter, in another state capital like Albany.

Yet Mr. Thune, and 57 of his colleagues, deemed it prudent to let anyone with a concealed weapon permit from one state enter just about any other, gun tucked in holster, pants or purse. Only Illinois and Wisconsin, which don't allow concealed weapons, would have been exempted.

New York is one of the few states that gives its gun permit-issuing authorities strong discretion in deciding whether to allow people to carry concealed weapons. At the other end of the spectrum is Vermont, which requires no permit at all. In between are about 40 states where it is fairly easy to get a permit to carry a deadly weapon.

Some in the anti-gun control movement hold the view that arming more citizens makes us all safer from crime. That may make some kind of sense in a sparsely populated state. It doesn't sound so smart in a more urban, densely-populated state, where millions of people, not to mention tourists, come together daily, with all their quirks, customs, disputes and elbows.

Mr. Thune demonstrated his lack of understanding of the complexity of this issue when he suggested Central Park might be a safer place if it was visited by an armed tourist from South Dakota. There hasn't been a murder in Central Park in seven years. Mr. Thune would have known that, of course, if he had checked the statistics. But maybe he finds it more fun to shoot from the hip.

The issue:

A move to require states to respect other states' gun permits fails in Congress.

The Stakes:

Smart gun laws are one reason New York isn't the Wild West.