Right Reason on Second Amendment Rights
Springfield, Illinois
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Sangamon
County Rifle Association Right Reason on Second Amendment Rights Springfield, Illinois |
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 New York's Sullivan Law: Making criminals' work
safer for 100 years
Jim Butler
President, SCRA
October 2005 GunNews Many criminologists believe that disarming law-abiding citizens or, restricting their right to be armed, only increases crime and protects criminals. As proof they point to New York's Sullivan Law. New York's Sullivan Law makes it a felony to carry a weapon. In the early 20th century, Sullivan was a member of the State Assembly who represented the Red Hook District of Brooklyn, which surrounds the Gowanus Canal. This was a hotbed of crime then and is still a dangerous place today. Many of the people there made a living robbing docks and warehouses. They also robbed and assaulted people passing through the area. The owners of the docks and other businesses armed their workers to protect against these robberies. People traveling through the area began arming themselves for protection. This caused a sharp decrease in robberies. The criminals in the Red Hook District persuaded State Senator Timothy Sullivan to introduce a bill that would disarm these people and make their criminal endeavers safer. This was done and the purpose of the 1911 Sullivan Law to protect criminals has succeeded for almost 100 years. New York's Sullivan Law was America's strictest gun control law since the antebellum slave code to control blacks was passed prior to the civil war. State Senator Timothy Sullivan had promised that if New York City outlawed handgun carrying, homicides would decline drastically. The year the Sullivan Law took effect, however, homicides increased and the New York Times pronounced criminals "as well armed as ever." Since the Sullivan Law was passed at the start of the 20th century, mainly the rich, powerful, the well-connected, and the influential have had easy access to licenses to carry handguns. Of the 27,000 handgun carry pemits in New York City, fewer than two percent are issued to blacks -- who live and work in high-crime areas and really are in need of protection. In New York City today, it is almost impossible for ordinary honest people to own a handgun or most rifles. Even .22 caliber target rifles are considered to be "assault weapons" and are banned. New York City's Sullivan Law, conceived at the request of criminals, has served to protect them from armed law-abiding citizens from the middle and poorer classes who live, work, or obtain services in or on the periphery of extremely high crime areas, for almost a century. As I See it Index Return to SCRA Home Page |