Armed Robber Ignores NYC’s ‘Gun-Free’ Policy for Public Transportation

If you’re one of the few New York City residents with a valid carry permit, you still can’t take your pistol with you when using the city’s mass transit system, which is one of many “gun-free zones” established by New York politicians after the Bruen decision. Prior to 2022 it was perfectly legal to carry in a subway car, but it was nearly impossible to get a permit to carry. 

Honestly, things haven’t improved that much since New York was forced to adopt a “shall issue” licensing regime. Applicants are still waiting a year or more to be approved, and the onerous application fees are serving as a roadblock for many residents who might otherwise apply for a carry permit. 

Criminals, meanwhile, are continuing to carry without regard for the law, including in places that are off-limits to lawful carry. 

A 57-year-old woman was robbed of her bag inside an Upper West Side subway station in a broad-daylight mugging after a stranger put a gun to her head, demanding her property, police said Thursday.

“This is real,” the armed mugger seethed as he pressed the gun to the woman’s head at the 86th St. subway stop for B and C trains at Central Park West on Wednesday.

Police released surveillance photos of the suspect in the hopes someone would recognize him.

The victim was in the station’s mezzanine, about to enter a turnstile around 11:15 a.m. when the gunman crept up behind her.

After threatening to shoot her, he snatched the woman’s bag, which contained an Apple watch, her iPhone, wallet, credit cards and personal checks.

The CCTV cameras in the subway stations may help police identify the suspect, but they certaintly didn’t stop him from carrying out his crime. Neither did any of the uniformed officers that regularly patrol the subway system. 

Now, given the fact that the armed robber snuck up behind his victim and took her by surprise, she might not have been able to fend him off even if she was allowed to carry on public transportation and had managed to navigate the maze of red tape NYC has erected between residents and their right to bear arms. The “gun-free” policy, though, also prevented anyone else from lawfully carrying and rendering aid, even if it was just to try to hold the armed robber until police arrived. 

The NY Daily News says armed robberies on the subway system are “exceedingly rare”, and notes that reported incidents are down by 10% so far this year, from 347 in mid-October 2024 to 310 this year. That’s still more than one per day, and that doesn’t count the incidents where the victim decided not to report what happened to them because they’re afraid of retaliation or don’t believe it would do any good. 

New York isn’t going to willingly get rid of its “gun-free” designation for public transportation, but the Supreme Court could compel them to do so. There are ongoing challenges to New York’s ban and other similar prohibitions around the country, including a case called Schoenthal v. Raoul that has been fully briefed and tried on the merits in the lower courts. Though a district court judge ruled that Illinois’ ban on concealed carry in public transportation settings was unconstitutional, a Seventh Circuit panel reversed that decision last month. 

Whether SCOTUS is ready to weigh in on the constitutionality of these specific “gun-free zones” is an open question, but given the stakes involved for millions of Americans who rely on buses and light rail to get around, the justices should grant cert to one of these challenges at the first opportunity. Of course, they should have granted cert to an “assault weapon” case long ago and we’re still waiting for that to happen, so I’m tempering my expectations when it comes to SCOTUS and “gun-free” subway systems. 

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

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