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PSA For NYC Tourists: Don't Bring Loaded Gun To The Empire State Building Unless You Want To Get Arrested
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 24, 2013
Modified Jul 24, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 24, 2013
Modified Jul 24, 2013
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There's something that many tourists just don't understand about NYC: You can't bring your beloved firearm here. Your permit from Indiana or North Carolina or Tennessee ain't gonna fly here. And when you tell security at the Empire State Building or 9/11 Memorial that you've got a gun, you will totally be arrested.
Yesterday, Evon Allen of Georgia was arrested after trying to bring in his loaded gun to the Empire State Building. The Post says, "He told security he had the .40 caliber Sig Sauer gun on him, the sources said. Police from the Midtown South precinct quickly arrested the man who had a valid concealed carriers permit from Georgia, cops said."
Allen was reportedly charged with criminal possession of a weapon. An Empire State Building worker told the Daily News, "Trying to get in here with that, he must have been nuts." But only as nuts at that Marine from Indiana who tried to check his gun in at the ESB in 2011 or that medical student from Tennessee who tried to check her gun at the 9/11 Memorial.
The "paranoid" and "shameful" NRA recommends all gun owners to check state and city laws around gun possessions before traveling. Here's what it says about NYC:
A number of localities, including Albany, Buffalo, New York City, Rochester, Suffolk County, and Yonkers, impose their own requirements on the possession, registration, and transport of firearms. Possession of a handgun within New York City requires a New York City handgun license or a special permit from the city police commissioner validating a state license within the city.
Even New York state licenses are generally not valid within New York City unless a specific exemption applies, such as when the New York City police commissioner has issued a special permit to the licensee or “the firearms covered by such license are being transported by the licensee in a locked container and the trip through the city of New York is continuous and uninterrupted.” Possession of a shotgun or rifle within New York City requires a permit, which is available to non-residents, and a certificate of registration.
No person may possess a loaded rifle or shotgun anywhere in public within New York City limits. A non-resident without a permit may possess an unregistered long gun for up to 24 hours in New York City if in transit to a destination outside the city, provided that the firearm is at all times unloaded and in a locked case or locked automobile trunk and the person is “lawfully in possession of said rifle or shotgun according to the laws of his or her place of residence.”
In other words, your gun in NYC is probably not a great idea—and stashing it away in hotel chair while you're visiting the 9/11 Memorial is really stupid.
Tagged
empire state building
gun laws
gun permit
guns
nyc
tourist
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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