Eric Schneiderman Archives -

These Two Democrat Attorney Generals Are Hypocrites

At the instigation of NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D-NY), a number of attorneys general, all Democrats, have signed on to a letter opposing national carry reciprocity. They specifically oppose HR 38 sponsored by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) and S. 446 introduced by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).

Schneiderman is joined in the letter by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Oregon, Virginia, Rhode Island, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut, New Mexico, North Carolina and the District of Columbia.

The full letter can be found here.

Here are some pertinent excerpts from the letter:

Each of our States allows concealed carry—as do all 50 states—but with
carefully considered and long-standing substantive and procedural protections
designed to address public safety concerns in our localities. Under the legislation,
our residents would lose the protections that their legislators and law enforcement
agencies have deemed appropriate, in favor of rules made by States legislating for
very different local conditions. Rather than creating a new national standard for who
may carry concealed firearms, these bills would elevate the lowest state standard
over higher ones and force some States to allow concealed carry by people who do not
qualify under their laws. This forced acceptance of the most permissive standards
would also affect determinations about the proper level of safety training necessary
to justify concealed carry and the criteria governing whether a person is too
dangerous to carry a gun in a crowded place.

It goes on to misconstrue the limitations that would be put in place by HR 38:

The result of the proposed legislation would be a proliferation of potentially
dangerous or irresponsible non-residents with concealed weapons in the States, cities,
and towns across America that have made local judgments that certain regulations
on the carrying of such weapons are necessary to protect public safety. Furthermore,
the House bill would override some state laws that prohibit carrying concealed
weapons in bars, schools, shopping malls, movie theatres, subways, or parks. States
would not be able to enforce those restrictions; nor would local law enforcement
officers reacting to specific risks to the public in such locations, which have tragically
been the site of mass shootings in recent years.

The text of HR 38 specifically says that state laws governing carry and posting of private property as well as the posting of state or local government properties including parks will not be superseded by this bill. In other words, these attorneys general have stated a bald face lie.

Now to the hypocritical part. Both the commonwealth of Virginia and the state of North Carolina recognize permits from all other states. The law in Virginia was changed when Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) joined with Republicans in passing HB 1163/SB 610. This was considered a rebuke of Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D-VA) who unilaterally revoked reciprocity agreements with 25 states. Herring was the beneficiary of almost $1.3 million from Bloomberg’s Independence USA PAC.

Likewise, the state of North Carolina’s law were changed effective December 1, 2011 to recognize unilaterally all permits issued by any state. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D-NC) ought to be aware of this because his own Department of Justice has a webpage devoted to this. While to the best of my knowledge, Josh Stein didn’t receive money directly from Michael Bloomberg, the North Carolina Democratic Party did received $250,000 from him in 2016.

Mark Herring and Josh Stein are out and out hypocrites. They want to deny a right to the rest of America that the visitors to their own states enjoy. Citizens of Virginia have a chance to get rid of Herring this fall but we in the Tar Heel State have to wait another three years before we are rid of anti-gun Josh Stein.

No One Has Ever Accused NY Politicians Of Being Classy

In a rather gloating press release, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman touts the state’s win in Kachalsky et al v. Cacace et al. To say Judge Seibel’s decision was a win for the United States Constitution is ludicrous.

I’m sure Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago said similar things when Chicago won in McDonald v. Chicago at the lower court levels. However, he was crying in his beer after the Supreme Court ruled for Otis McDonald and the rest of the plaintiffs in their landmark decision applying the Second Amendment to the states through incorporation.

In light of the number of shootings in New York City over the past weekend, the statements of Richard Aborn, head of Citizen’s Crime Commission of NYC and former President of the Brady Campaign, ring hollow.

WHITE PLAINS – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that his office has won a major court victory in defense of New York State’s gun safety laws. In a decision in the case of Kachalsky, et al. v. Cacace, et al, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York rejected a constitutional challenge to New York’s handgun licensing statute, ruling that individuals do not have a constitutional right to carry a concealed handgun in public.

“Every day, my office fights to ensure all New Yorkers are safe and secure in their communities,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “This means ensuring that our state’s gun laws are protected and vigorously enforced. This federal court decision is a victory for New York State law, the United States Constitution, and families across New York who are rightfully concerned about the scourge of gun violence that all too often plagues our communities.”

“This is a major victory for the public safety of all New Yorkers,” said Jackie Hilly, Executive Director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. “We applaud Attorney General Schneiderman for vigorously defending the state’s gun laws that clearly indicate that individuals have no constitutional right to carry dangerous, concealed weapons in public. For law enforcement officers and communities across this state, this decision means fewer deaths and injuries – it’s that simple.”

“This critical decision protects New York’s right to decide the conditions under which a concealed weapon may be carried,” said Richard M. Aborn, President of Citizens Crime Commission of New York City. “As a result of Attorney General Schneiderman’s aggressive defense of our state’s gun laws, our communities will be safer and more secure.”
In Kachalsky, et al. v. Cacace, et al, five individual plaintiffs residing in Westchester County, and one organization, the Second Amendment Foundation, Inc., argued that the “proper cause” provision of the New York law governing the issuance of licenses to carry concealed handguns in public violates their rights under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as defined in two recent landmark decisions by the United States Supreme Court, District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago. The “proper cause” provision requires a license applicant to show “a special need for self protection distinguishable from that of the general community or of persons engaged in the same profession.”

The defendants in this case, four State Court judges who also serve as “licensing officers” under the New York statute, were represented by Attorney General Schneiderman’s office, which argued that the “proper cause” provision of the New York law did not violate the Second Amendment as described by the Supreme Court in Heller and McDonald. Judge Cathy Seibel agreed, ruling that the Second Amendment provides the right to keep arms for the purpose of self defense in the home, but does not extend to a right to carry concealed handguns in public.

The judge further ruled that even if the Second Amendment were read to cover such a right, the New York “proper cause” provision passes constitutional muster under the Heller and McDonald rulings because the law is substantially related to important governmental interests, namely the promotion of public safety and the prevention of crimes perpetrated with concealed handguns. Judge Seibel also ruled that the “proper cause” provision does not violate the Equal Protection clause of the constitution because it does not discriminate against handgun license applicants.

Accordingly, Judge Seibel granted the State defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and dismissed the plaintiffs’ case in its entirety.

The case was handled by Assistant Attorneys General Monica Connell and Anthony Tomari under the supervision of Bruce McHale, Deputy Bureau Chief of the New York City Litigation Bureau.