Manhattan prosecutor: Gun law reciprocity bill ‘supported, I am sure, by ISIS’

New York County District Attorney Cy Vance in an interview aired Sunday blasted a GOP plan that would allow qualified owners to carry concealed handguns in other states that allow individuals to carry concealed firearms.

Speaking to radio host John Catsimatidis on AM 970 in New York, Vance argued that the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act introduced earlier this year would only put New York City at risk of violence.

“If that bill passes, I believe the safety, and the greater safety we have achieved will be at risk,” he said.

The bill, which was introduced in the House by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and a version in the Senate by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), would allow concealed carry owners to carry in any state that permits the practice as long as they qualify to concealed carry in their home state.

Vance argued that the bill would allow people to bring guns from states with lax gun laws to New York, where gun restrictions are much tighter. 

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“It would be completely legal for a person to bring a loaded gun or guns in New York as long as it was legal to possess them in the person’s home state,” Vance explained.

“A guy from Idaho, where there’s no permitting requirement whatsoever, could carry his gun into New York city loaded, into Times Square.”

The district attorney warned lawmakers that they were “playing into the hand” of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other terrorists, pointing to ISIS publications describing the ease of buying guns in some American states.

“This bill is supported, I’m sure, by ISIS,” Vance said. “ISIS points its readers to America and how they can easily obtain guns by going to states where there are no permitting requirements.”

“So ISIS is paying close attention to this bill as well.”

Vance then cited statistics from Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control group started by former Gov. Michael Bloomberg, that predicted millions of guns would pour into New York City as a result of the GOP bill.

“Everytown, which is Mayor Bloomberg’s gun policy think tank, estimates that if the law passes that there could be as many as two million more loaded guns coming into city every year,” Vance warned. 

“Law enforcement around the country, the major city chiefs, the major prosecutors offices from  the big cities all oppose this act because it would increase danger to our communities and our cops,” he said.

Vance questioned the logic behind the bill.

“Does anyone really think the gun laws in West Virginia should be the same laws that apply in Washington Heights, Manhattan? Can you imagine how incensed Idaho would be if they had to abide by New York gun laws?” Vance asked.

“It’s a dangerous and ill-conceived bill.”