New York DA Forbids Prosecutors From Owning Handguns, Even At Home For Personal Protection
Brian Anderson
September 26, 2015
New York has so little respect for the people’s right to keep and bear arms it’s hard to be shocked by the new infringements of the 2nd Amendment they cook up. Give the Nassau County District Attorney some credit for finding an appalling way to stomp on gun ownership rights. Prosecutors that work for the county are simply not allowed to own handguns. I don’t mean they can’t bring handguns to work; they can’t even have them at their homes for personal protection.
The Washington Post reports:
The Nassau County District Attorney’s office bars prosecutors from having a handgun, even at home:
[A]ssistant district attorneys are not permitted to apply for a handgun permit nor own or possess a handgun while employed by the Nassau County District Attorney. Any exception to this policy must be in writing and approved by the District Attorney.
The WaPo’s Eugene Volokh reached out to the DA’s office for some clarity on this policy. The response was even worse than the mandate:
Our practice of asking prosecutors to not possess handguns is to ensure the safety and comfort of staff, victims, and witnesses, and is consistent with other district attorney’s offices in the New York City metropolitan area.
First off, they aren’t “asking” prosecutors not to own handguns; they are telling them they can’t own handguns. Telling someone they are “not permitted” to do something is different than suggesting they shouldn’t do something.
Second, how does a prosecutor owning a personal firearm that is kept at home make people in the courtroom unsafe or uncomfortable? And for that matter, how does the feeling of comfort and safety for staff, victims, and witnesses trump the gun ownership rights of the prosecutors? These people wouldn’t even know if a prosecutor kept a handgun in his or her home for self-defense.
This is not only one hell of an unconstitutional policy, but also one that is based on sheer stupidity. Talk about a gun control policy that disarms good guys while doing absolutely nothing to deter the bad guys. With this illegal edict, the DA is saying that Nassau County Prosecutors can’t be trusted with firearms. That there is an expectation that guardians of the law are going to go apeshit and shoot up the courtrooms.
Much like how advertising gun-free zones invites criminals, this policy will attract the bad guys like a magnet. Prosecutors put some pretty scary people behind bars and that often creates resentment and fantasies of revenge. Now the criminals know that the prosecutors have no means to defend themselves. Who needs witness intimidation when you can just take out the prosecutor?
Try to imagine a boss implementing a policy that forbids employees from voting or practicing their religion. Liberals, like the one currently banning gun ownership, would completely flip out over the unconstitutionality of the rules. How is this any different? The right to keep and bear arms is a protected civil right just like freedom of speech and religion.
http://downtrend.com/71superb/new-york-da-forbids-prosecutors-from-owning-handguns-even-at-home-for-personal-protection
