Can New Jersey and New York curb gun violence with new regulations? — Mary Chao
After the U.S. Supreme Court expanded private citizens' rights to carry firearms — ruling against a long-standing New York statute late last month — Brooklyn resident Miriam Perez took up firearms training with a military friend in Virginia.
Perez, 55, is single and lives in the borough's downtown area, a diverse neighborhood dotted with brownstones and corner stores. A lifelong, streetwise city girl, Perez is always aware of her surroundings. She will not walk dark streets alone and avoids certain subway lines. A few close calls with predators prompted her vigilance.
Despite being cautious, Perez knows it's hard for her as an unarmed woman to escape a determined criminal.
"I cannot defend myself against a gun," she said, adding that firearms training is a precaution. "I don't know if I will own a gun, but I can see the importance of it," she said.
A child of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Perez is a social justice advocate who knows first hand the struggles of working-class minorities. Her own parents juggled several jobs at factories and as a longshoreman while she lived with an aunt in Harlem in her youth.
As a single woman in Brooklyn, she also sees the dark side of city living. Crimes happen randomly — like the mass shooting at a subway station in nearby Sunset Park.
In New York City, crime increased by 27.8% between May 2021 and May of this year, according to the New York City Police Department. Each of the seven major crime categories saw increases, led by a 42.1% increase in grand larceny, a 28.3% rise in burglary and a 26.2% increase in robbery, officials said.
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The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 23 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen struck down a New York law that required gun applicants to show a specific need to carry a firearm in public. In response to the ruling, New York lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul in July signed into law a bill restricting the concealed carry of firearms in locations such as government buildings, parks and schools.
Research from the National Bureau of Economic Research reveals that violent crime involving firearms increases by 29% when people are given the right to carry handguns, caused in part by a 35% increase in gun theft.
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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also signed a gun control package this month. The Garden State's new regulations require gun owners who move to New Jersey from out of state to register their firearms in the state within 60 days, ban most rifles and put new regulations on the sale of ammunition.
Among the gun control measures in New Jersey was a change to its bail reform laws. The Garden State will now make it much tougher for people accused of gun crimes to post bail.
On Tuesday, Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh was joined by law enforcement and lawmakers who insist that the change to bail reform in New Jersey will deter repeat offenders arrested with illegal firearms. Sayegh said of those arrested and charged with gun crimes in Newark, 17% repeated in 2022.
At the news conference, Sayegh mentioned that New York City Mayor Eric Adams "doesn't sleep," empathizing with his colleague across the Hudson, who has been pushing for changes to New York’s bail laws without much success.
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New York City and North Jersey are intricately tied, with the Garden State serving as a suburb of the Big Apple. Many New Jersey residents commute to New York City for work, to recreate or to see family.
I am among the North Jersey residents who regularly travel to New York City. I grew up in Queens and still have family in New York. Like Perez, who was my high school classmate, I am streetwise. I take self-defense classes and am always aware of my surroundings.
Yet as Perez noted, I cannot defend myself against a gun. That leaves me feeling vulnerable, particularly as an Asian woman, part of a group who are often the target of attacks. I am haunted by the story of New Jersey native ChristinaYuna Lee, who was brutally stabbed to death in January at her Manhattan Chinatown apartment. Defenseless, she was chased by her assailant and stabbed more than 40 times.
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During the course of the pandemic in the past two-plus years, New York City saw a sharp increase in violence against Asian Americans as Asians are scapegoated for the virus that originated in Wuhan, China. There were 131 hate crimes targeting Asians in New York last year compared with 28 in 2020 and one in 2019, according to the NYPD.
People are living in fear as crimes and shootings escalate throughout the country. The fear of danger is more pronounced in urban areas, with vulnerable pedestrian traffic, whether it's Brooklyn or Paterson.
Is the answer for average people to carry a concealed weapon? I have mixed feelings about this. I would like to protect myself and would train to use a firearm. But I understand that it could lead to unnecessary violence, particularly in a crowded space. Can you imagine if someone rubbed a short-tempered person the wrong way in Times Square and it escalated into a gunfight?
As the New York state law is written, no one is allowed to possess a firearm without a license in New York. That means a New Jersey resident with a legal gun cannot carry it into New York. A person must have a permit and the license for the jurisdictions where they wish to carry it, which is often broken down on a county-by-county basis, said Rochester, New York, criminal defense attorney Jon Getz.
New York City has its own separate and additional restrictions and laws limiting the possession and transportation of firearms, Getz added. Someone coming into New York City from Rockland County or Dutchess County, or someone who is moving to Manhattan, Brooklyn or the Bronx, must have the requisite permissions and permit, or they cannot transport their firearm from one part of the state to the city. A permit or permission of this kind can be very difficult, if not impossible, to secure in most situations, especially in New York City, Getz said.
The New York law amended this month restricts guns in parks and educational spaces and on mass transit. New permitting requirements for concealed carry will include training and the locked storage of guns in cars.
Those are measures that Perez agree with. Practicing at the firing range, she realizes just how powerful guns are.
"Safety must be a priority," she said.
While a handgun may be necessary for personal safety, Perez thinks assault rifles should be banned.
"I don't understand why someone like me would need something like that," Perez said. "It's not for self-protection."
Assault rifles are banned in New Jersey, which has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. But the state and the country can do more to cut down on gun crimes, said Larry Hamm, chair of the People's Organization for Progress, based in Newark.
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Poverty is a main cause of crime, Hamm said. Even as guns flood the streets, there are ways to curb the violence, such as investing in gun buyback programs. Hamm said he respects lawmakers who are trying to solve the problem, but although tweaking New Jersey's bail reform law may help a little bit, it won't solve the problem on a large scale.
"We are at a point where we have to do bolder and bigger things about this," Hamm said. "Come up with a strategy to focus on illegal guns."
Perez, who is a real estate investor, has seen firsthand what poverty does to young people of color. She considers herself fortunate, as her parents spoke little English and worked all the time. She has seen young lives ruined by gun crimes, as once a person is convicted of a felony, it is virtually impossible to get a job.
As New York state politicians debate the current bail reform system, Perez weighs racial justice, because eliminating cash bail helps keep poor people from being jailed as they await court proceedings.
"Nothing initially is perfect," she said. "We as a society have to try and try again."
Cognizant of the complexities of crime and justice, Perez will continue on her path of self-empowerment. If she does get a gun, it will be a small Beretta handgun — with red dot optic to help with targeting.
Mary Chao covers the Asian communities of North Jersey and real estate.
Email mchao@northjersey.com.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Can NJ and NY curb gun violence with new regulations?
