NEW YORK CITY -(Ammoland.com)- In a letter provided to AmmoLand News from Gun Owners of America (GOA), dated August 31, 2022, Inspector Hugh Bogle of the New York Police Department (NYPD) informed business owners with an active business, limited carry, special carry, or carry business license that their business might now be in a “sensitive area” and were informed to bring their guns to the police station so that the guns can be “safeguarded,” or remove them from the location.

The letter reads: “If this applies to your place of business, please bring your applicable firearm(s) to your local precinct in order for it to be safeguarded for you. Alternatively, you may bring your firearm(s) to another location where you are lawfully allowed to possess and store it. Lastly, you may contract with a Federally Licensed Firearms dealer (FFL) to store the firearm(s) for you – they may, however, charge for this service.”

After the landmark Bruen Supreme Court decision, New York passed the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA). The new law designated much of the State as a “sensitive area.” That designation included much of New York City. Any place that serves alcohol, provides any type of medical or counseling services, State-owned buildings, parks, recreation centers, all of Time Square, and many other places are now sensitive areas. The new law turned law-abiding citizens into criminals in the eyes of the police if they wished to continue to exercise their Constitutionally protected right to bear arms.

Many businesses in the area surrounding Time Square will automatically become sensitive areas regardless of the type of business. Some people fear this will lead to higher crime because of the number of cash businesses and jewelry stores in the area that criminals will now target. People fear these stores will now be soft targets. The State claims that the CCIA will make residents safer, but it is putting a target on the backs of these business owners.

The NYPD seems to be all too happy to enforce the Constitutionally dubious law. Leaked documents obtained by Project Veritas showed the NYPD would assume anyone carrying a firearm is carrying that gun unlawfully until proven otherwise. This assumption of guilt also seems to run afoul of probable cause since the police will use the fact that someone is carrying a gun as probable cause to arrest and search them regardless of if they legally possess the firearm. The new letter shows another example of the NYPD aggressively enforcing the CCIA.

Another thing is that the letter might prove the old adage that registration leads to confiscation. For years, gun rights advocates have claimed that confiscation is the end goal of any registration scheme. Anti-gun groups have told us those gun registrations have nothing to do with firearms confiscation plans, but many see the letters sent to New York City business owners as confiscation notices. Even though the business owners have two other choices if they do not want to turn over their firearms to the police, many don’t have another place to take their firearms. Most firearms dealers will not store guns for customers, eliminating the third option for gun owners.

This confiscation scheme has only been announced for New York City but could spread to the rest of the Empire State. It is also a cautionary tale about how anti-gun politicians can and will use firearms registrations to disarm their residents. It has happened in Australia. It has happened in the UK. It has happened in Canada. And now it is happening in the Big Apple.

About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.