Almost 50 million people cavort in Times Square in New York every year. With a new law, the cosmopolitan city is now declaring it a "gun-free zone", countering a controversial ruling by the US Supreme Court. The ban should also apply in other places.
Carrying firearms is now strictly prohibited in Times Square and many other public places in New York. Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a sign reading "Times Square: Gun-Free Zone" at a news conference on Wednesday, which was scheduled to be hung on and around the tourist hotspot in the heart of the New York borough of Manhattan on Thursday.
Times Square, which attracts around 50 million people a year with its huge electronic billboards, is not the only place where New York specifically prohibits carrying guns. This is now also prohibited in “bars, libraries, schools, government buildings and hospitals”, as the governor of the state of New York, Kathy Hochul, announced. Weapons may no longer be carried concealed.
The corresponding law, which came into force on September 1, was passed by the Democrat-governed city and the state of New York in the summer. In doing so, they were responding to a ruling by the US Supreme Court at the end of June, which upheld the constitutional right of US citizens to leave their homes armed. "The Supreme Court decision was a shot that resonated around the world, aimed at the safety of New Yorkers," Mayor Adams said. The former police officer and representative of US President Joe Biden's Democratic Party has described the fight against gun violence as an important goal of his tenure.
Gov. Hochul said the state of New York "will continue to lead the way in implementing sound gun protection laws." She refuses to give up her "right as governor to protect New Yorkers from gun violence or other harm."
Gun violence is a widespread problem in the United States. Attempts to tighten the very loose gun law have repeatedly failed. Biden ordered some tightening of the rules in April, but he would need the approval of Congress for further reforms. Legislative initiatives there repeatedly fail due to resistance from conservative Republicans.
