'Be very afraid': NYC mayor scaremongers over possibility of residents being allowed to carry handguns to defend themselves

Violent crime has skyrocketed in New York City in recent years making the city increasingly less safe, yet Democratic Mayor Eric Adams thinks allowing residents to carry concealed handguns to protect themselves would be a dangerous mistake.

What are the details?

The mayor fearmongered this week over an impending decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that may strike down a more than 100-year-old state law that routinely leads to the denial of applications for concealed carry licenses for self-defense.

The law, which took effect in 1911, empowers local officials to decide whether or not to grant permits and requires that concealed carry applicants show "proper cause" for keeping a hidden firearm on their person, a stipulation rarely met by gun owners.

The lawsuit was brought by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association last year. The group claims that New York's law violates the Second Amendment rights of Americans who ought to be free to carry a firearm for self-defense.

Gun advocates argue that if more New Yorkers were able to defend themselves with concealed firearms, the state and city would be safer. But Adams lodged the exact opposite argument.

"We should be very afraid," he warned in response to the possibility that the nation's top court will rule against the law, according to WABC-TV.

"In a densely populated community like New York, this ruling could have a major impact on us," he argued, later adding, "We are now looking with our legal experts to see what we can do."

"But we should all be concerned," the mayor reiterated, suggesting that allowing residents to carry handguns in public is the exact wrong way to combat rising crime.

What else?

The mayor's warnings stood in contrast to claims he made earlier this year when he argued that New Yorkers were only experiencing "the perception of fear" amid a spike in violent incidents on the city's subways.

In response, one New Yorker shot back, saying, "The fear is real," according to the New York Post.

That resident added: "When you hear incidents that women are being thrown onto the subway tracks you’re scared."

However, it seems the mayor thinks that city residents should be more afraid of law-abiding gun owners than violent criminals.

Anything else?

The case in question, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, is considered one of the biggest tests of gun rights in at least a decade.

In their decision, the court's justices will essentially determine if Americans' have the fundamental right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense.

The ruling is expected to have a dramatic impact on gun laws nationwide.