National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2010

Floor Speech

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Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, some would suggest that a permit to conceal a gun in one State should provide authority for a legal and valid concealment in another State. I strongly believe that what gun laws are right for New York are not necessarily right for South Dakota and vice versa. States should be able to make decisions and pass reasonable constitutional safety standards based on their public safety requirements, traditions, population, crime rates, and geography.

It is wrong for the Federal Government to overrule a State's ability to enact reasonable, constitutional gun laws designed to prevent alcoholics, criminals, domestic abusers, those with documented grave mental illness, and other potentially violent and dangerous people from carrying guns in our cities.

In fact, Senator Thune's amendment creates a double standard in recognition of States rights with regard to conceal and carry laws. By allowing exemptions, this amendment validates the laws of States that ban concealed weapons but then strikes down the laws of a State such as New York that maintains basic safety standards for concealed carry permits. At a minimum, New York should be allowed to opt out and have an exemption.

This legislation would eviscerate concealed carry permitting standards, moving to a new national lowest common denominator. This bill would even allow individuals ineligible to obtain a permit in their own State the means to shop around for a lower standard in other States that offer permits to out-of-State residents, undercutting laws that would otherwise render the applicant ineligible.

A study by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence using FBI crime statistics demonstrates that relaxing conceal and carry laws may have an adverse effect on a State's crime rate. Between 1992 and 1998, the violent crime rate in States which kept strict conceal and carry laws fell by an average of 30 percent, whereas violent crime rates dropped by only 15 percent in States with weak conceal and carry laws.

A second concern is a lack of acceptable safety standards in all States. According to the Washington Post, in at least two-thirds of all States some form of safety training is required in order to receive a permit. Abusers of alcohol are prohibited from getting a permit. Those convicted of certain misdemeanors are prohibited.

In many States, statutory requirements are minimal and do not go much beyond the Federal Brady law requirements for purchasing firearms, meaning that some people get conceal and carry permits despite criminal convictions for violent or drug-related misdemeanors, assault, or even stalking.

It is not completely evident what a national overrule of State concealed carry laws might do to local crime numbers, but trends in national crime suggest that State and local governments understand what works in protecting their citizens.

I spoke with our NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, who said:

The Thune amendment would invite chaos in our cities and put the lives of both police officers and members of the public at risk by enabling anyone with an out-of-State permit, including gun traffickers, to carry multiple handguns wherever they go. New York City's strict requirements as to who can carry a concealed weapon have contributed to the city's unparalleled public safety. Our effort, indeed our entire mission, would be severely undercut by this bill. In a city where 90 percent of all guns used in crimes come from out of State, it is easy to see how S. 845 would pose a danger to New Yorkers by greatly increasing the availability of illegal handguns for purchase.

In 2008, New York had the lowest crime rate of the 25 largest cities in the country, and of the 261 cities with more than 100,000 residents, New York's crime rate ranked 246th.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg attributed this success to ``using innovative policing strategies and a focus on keeping guns out of the hands of criminals.''

This week, the Washington Post cited similar success at reducing crime in big cities across the country, stating that New York, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles are on track for fewer killings this year than in the last four decades. This is part of a larger trend in many big cities across the country.

Local and State elected officials and law enforcement officers across the country, such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police and Major Cities Chiefs Association, are speaking out in opposition to this amendment.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan coalition of more than 450 mayors--including of New York City, Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse--representing more than 56 million Americans, has stated a strong opposition to this amendment.

I stand here today with law enforcement and these cities and States across this country. They know what is best in keeping their communities safe. Commonsense gun laws focused on training, and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and other dangerous people, are reducing crime, and we should be supporting their efforts, not gutting such basic safety standards.

I strongly believe in our Constitution and the second amendment and Americans' right to defend themselves, but I also strongly support the States' and cities' right to provide basic constitutional and reasonable regulation of firearms.

I urge my colleagues in the Senate to stand up for our local communities and the commonsense gun safety laws.

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