As of Thursday, when a new state law permitting concealed firearms to be carried goes into effect, ‘Gun Free Zone’ signs are putting up across New York City’s Times Square.
The laminated signs will be zip-tied in Times Square and the surrounding blocks from 40th to 53rd streets and from 9th to 6th avenues.
In June, the Supreme Court of the United States knocked down New York State’s century-old prohibitions on concealed carry statutes.
In response, the state issued a legislation prohibiting concealed carry in “sensitive” areas such as parks, subways, places of worship, and playgrounds.
Times Square and a major portion of Midtown Manhattan have been adorned with ‘Gun free zone’ signs following the Thursday implementation of a New York ordinance that resists the US Supreme Court’s June decision to invalidate the state’s century-old draconian gun prohibitions.
The laminated signs have been zip-tied to around thirty blocks between 40th and 53rd Streets and 9th and 6th Avenues, which the state has designated as “sensitive” areas where concealed carry remains forbidden.
Shortly after the Supreme Court declared that the state’s rules prohibiting concealed carry without a “good reason” were unconstitutional, New York City’s governor Kathy Hochul pushed to keep gun restrictions in a number of high-traffic areas.
Hochul stated on Friday that she passed the state’s law protecting sensitive regions because the court’s rule ‘destroyed the power of a governor to defend her residents from those who carry concealed guns wherever they choose.’
In addition to public parks, the subway, government buildings, healthcare facilities, theaters, and playgrounds, concealed carry will continue to be restricted in public buildings, the subway, government buildings, healthcare facilities, and theaters.
It is unknown whether Times Square-like signage will be erected in these city areas.
As of Thursday, enormous electronic signs proclaiming “GUN FREE ZONE” were also erected across Times Square, however it is unknown for how long.
The laminated signs will be zip-tied in Times Square and the surrounding blocks from 40th to 53rd streets and from 9th to 6th avenues.
Even though Times Square is commonly known to be the open area between 42nd and 47th streets between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, the gun-free zone encompasses the entirety of Midtown.
These expansive bounds are apparently designed to encompass blocks that the city believes to be high-traffic tourist areas, with the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Center in close proximity.
Tuesday, Adrienne Adams, the speaker of the New York City Council, expressed her eagerness to see measures taken to ‘protect New Yorkers and visitors who frequent Times Square.’
According to The New York Times, Carmen De La Rosa, a member of the NYC public safety committee, noted that these places are typically viewed as part of a package deal for first-time visitors to the city or those visiting Times Square. If you are visiting Times Square, you may choose to visit the MoMA.
A digital “Gun-free zone” sign in Times Square on Thursday, the day the state’s new gun regulations went into force.
In Times Square, licensed gun owners will be permitted to carry firearms only when traveling to or from their houses.
The Times reports that licensed gun owners will only be permitted to carry firearms into Times Square if they are traveling to or from their houses.
People will be permitted to transport firearms in their vehicles past Times Square so long as they do not stop and the firearms are unloaded and stowed in lockable containers.
Additionally, licensed company employees, including as security guards, will be permitted to carry firearms within Times Square’s boundaries.
The US Supreme Court concluded in June, by a decision of 6-3, that Americans had the right to protect oneself in public, so invalidating the draconian gun laws of New York, California, New Jersey, Hawaii, Maryland, and Massachusetts.
Under the new regulation, applicants for a permit to carry a concealed firearm must undergo 16 hours of classroom instruction and two hours of live-fire training.
As part of a “character and behavior” examination, applicants must also submit a list of their social media accounts over the preceding three years.