NYC Councilwoman Chastised by Colleagues for Bearing Arms

Those New York City council members can really hold a grudge. 

More than two years after Councilwoman Inna Vernikov was arrested and (briefly) charged with carrying a gun as she counter-protested a pro-Palestinian rally at Brooklyn College less than a week after Hamas launched its October 7 attack on Israel, members of the NYC Council Ethics Committee this week roundly criticized her for her actions. The committee, however, declined to issue a formal censure of the councilwoman.

Ethics Committee Chair Sandra Ung blasted Vernikov for allegedly showing a “brazen disregard” for public safety, and other committee members echoed Ung’s complaints about Vernikov refusing to apologize. 

“Carrying a weapon into public assembly, especially an assembly which consists of masked supporters of ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ is not only appropriate, but is necessary,” Vernikov said in response to the committee’s condemnation, adding that she encourages more New Yorkers to use their Second Amendment rights when Zohran Mamdani is mayor.

I’m actually surprised to see Vernikov offering any comment at all in response to the committee’s actions. She saw her charges dismissed because the gun that she turned in to police was missing a part and was inoperable. Her response to the committee suggests that maybe the pistol was operable.. at least when she was carrying it.  

I mean, if you’re worried about your personal safety, carrying what is essentially a paperweight is neither appropriate nor necessary. I just hope that Vernikov hasn’t opened herself up to further scrutiny by the NYPD with her comments. Even if the statute of limitations has run out, the NYPD Licensing Division could still use those comments against her when it comes time to renew her concealed carry permit. 

Staten Island Councilman David Carr, the ethics panel’s only Republican, came to Vernikov’s defense, saying there was “no evidence” to suggest she meant to threaten or cause concern by intentionally toting the gun.

He also slammed the 2022 state law designating many public places, such as protest areas and school grounds, as “sensitive locations” where wielding firearms is illegal.

“I believe restrictions like this that we have here in New York may not endure judicial scrutiny,” Carr said.

I believe Carr is right, though it will probably take action by the Supreme Court in order to get rid of some of those “gun free zones.” There are multiple lawsuits challenging various “sensitive places” established by the deceptively named Concealed Carry Improvement Act adopted by New York lawmakers in the wake of the Bruen decision that struck down the state’s “may issue” permitting system, but so far no judge has ruled that the ban on carrying a concealed firearm at or near a protest or on the grounds of a college or university campus. 

As for Vernikov’s hope that more New Yorkers will exercise their Second Amendment rights once Zohran Mamdani is sworn in, there are a couple of changes to the permitting system that she could bring up through legislation.  One thing that would be extraordinarily helpful in that regard is lowering the cost to carry, while adding staff to the NYPD Licensing Bureau might help in reducing the egregiously long wait times for approval. 

Now, I don’t expect a majority of Vernikov’s fellow council members to go along with any plan that would make it easier for folks to exercise their Second Amendment rights, but if Vernikov were to introduce legislation to make these changes and it’s voted down, that might draw the attention of the DOJ’s new Second Amendment Section of the Civil Rights Division. 

I hope that NYC’s abuses are already on the DOJ’s radar, but the council refusing to take steps to address two of the fundamental issues with the city’s licensing regime would give the DOJ even more reason to launch an investigation and lawsuit…. and to hopefully bring justice to those New Yorkers unable to exercise their Second Amendment rights because of the city’s draconian laws and disregard for our right to keep and bear arms.

Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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