Staff Reports
New Yorkers and New Jerseyans are showing some serious enthusiasm for gun rights these days, and it’s about time. Following the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, applications for gun permits have skyrocketed. It appears that citizens, tired of anti-gun restrictions, are lining up to exercise their Second Amendment rights. The news, however, comes with a hefty dose of reality: the gun control crowd isn’t backing down and is concocting more ways to complicate the permit process.
The spike in applications is astonishing. In New York City alone, over 11,000 residents applied for concealed carry permits from 2022 to early March this year. During the first couple of months of 2024, more than 1,800 applications flooded in. Contrast that with 2021, when just 315 individuals dared to apply under the previous strict regulations. No one has to question the demand; New Yorkers clearly want the ability to defend themselves, even if their government has historically been a barrier to that freedom.
🔫 2A
Gun Permit Applications are Skyrocketing in New York and New Jersey https://t.co/6iRWLqo7oq
— Biff Smallberries (@B_Smallberries) August 13, 2024
Meanwhile, New Jersey is experiencing a similar surge. The state recorded about 41,000 new applications between 2022 and the end of June 2024. In just the first half of 2024, nearly 12,500 people threw their hats in the ring for new permits. An analysis showed that a staggering 99% of these applications were approved. This is a monumental leap from the mere 274 new applications in the year prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling. It may not be a full-on revolution, but it’s certainly a sign that freedom-loving folk in both states are ready to reclaim their rights.
The surge in permit applications also highlights the frustration many residents feel toward state weapon regulations. While citizens are eager to arm themselves, their governments continue to impose layers of red tape and delay the approval processes. The anti-gun activists are still alive and well, stubbornly pushing back against the wave of liberty that the Bruen ruling sought to promote. There’s no shortage of instances where bureaucracy tries to thwart applicants with endless waiting times and questionable denials, effectively saying to citizens, “You can have your rights, but only if we say so.”
Despite these obstacles, the Supreme Court’s ruling has set in motion a legal foundation that could challenge even more restrictive gun laws in the future. New York City’s new permit regime is already facing scrutiny as many legal experts argue that it remains unconstitutionally convoluted. If anything, the temptations of bureaucracy appear to be resisting the tide of liberty that the Bruen decision has ushered in.
It’s clear that, while the journey for Second Amendment rights is fraught with adversity, citizens in New York and New Jersey are pushing back, rejecting restrictive laws, and demanding their rights be respected. The tide appears to be turning, and as more citizens seek to acquire permits, one thing becomes clear: the desire for self-defense and constitutional rights is alive and well, despite the best efforts of anti-gun factions to stifle it.
