New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has directed the state’s law enforcement officers to assume “anyone carrying” a gun is doing so “unlawfully until proven otherwise,” according to an internal government memo leaked Thursday.
The Aug. 2022 memo entitled “New York State Restrictions on Carrying Concealed Firearms” provides a list of “key points” for law enforcement to know, including “anyone carrying a firearm is presumed to be carrying unlawfully until proven otherwise.”
The memo was originally obtained by Project Veritas, a news agency known for its undercover reporting.
“Officers may stop an individual when the officer has reasonable suspicion that an individual is carrying a firearm and may frisk that individual since the officer has reasonable suspicion that the individual is armed and dangerous,” the memo states.
The memo follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that New York State was violating the Second Amendment by requiring concealed-carry license applicants prove they have a worthy need to carry guns in public.
The memo addresses the Supreme Court’s ruling directly and asserts that “recent changes in law do not impact the way officers conduct investigative encounters.”
Gun rights advocacy group Gun Owners of America slammed the latest gun control measure as a “dangerous policy.”
“This is a dangerous policy that will lead to unnecessary confrontations between law enforcement and law abiding citizens just trying to exercise their constitutional rights,” the group tweeted.
Officials announced this week that new “Gun Free Zone” signs will be displayed at “every entry point” to Times Square in New York City beginning on Thursday, Sept. 1. The “gun free zone” designation comes from a law signed in July that limits where guns can be carried in public.
