As of Thursday, walking around the famous Times Square neighborhood of Manhattan, including in hiding, with a firearm, like many public places in the state and New York City, will be banned, authorities said on Wednesday.
• Also read: Quebec Tourism: Charming establishment in Times Square and London
The new law, passed and signed into law this summer by New York State led by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Megacity led by Democratic right-wing Mayor Eric Adams, goes into effect September 1.
It’s a response by New York and other democratic states like California to the “scandalous” ruling by the United States Supreme Court — with a conservative majority — which in late June had consecrated Americans’ constitutional right to leave armed homes.
“The Supreme Court’s decision was a shot that resonated around the world,” said the very martial Eric Adams, a former police captain who fought violence, during a news conference with firearms the backbone of his tenure.
“New York City will appeal this ruling and new requirements for the right to conceal a firearm in sensitive areas like Times Square will go into effect tomorrow,” it said.
The City Council unveiled a “Times Square: Gun Free Zone” sign that will be hung on and around this iconic plaza in the heart of Manhattan through Thursday, where electronic billboards hang illuminated giants day and night for the 50 million visitors who flock there will every year.
The governor of the country’s fourth-largest state (population 20 million) added that these weapons, even “hidden” in suitcases, bags or bags, are banned in “bars, libraries, schools, public services and hospitals” in the region.
Ms. Hochul said she “refuses to waive[her]government duty to protect New Yorkers from gun violence.”
These prohibitions do not apply to law enforcement.
The Supreme Court in Washington, whose judges are mostly conservative, on June 23 overruled the “restrictions” on carrying guns provided for in a 1913 New York state law, despite America facing a crime outbreak in cities and a string of murders, including two in May, in Buffalo (10 African American dead) and at a school in Texas (21 dead, including 19 children).