NYC Whittles Away at Second Amendment

Rather than try to repeal the crucial Second Amendment outright, statist tyrants have been using an incremental approach. Under totalitarian moonbat Mayor for Life Michael Bloomberg, New York City has been at the forefront of this effort:

New York City residents who want to own a gun may soon be denied permits if they are litterbugs, if they are bad drivers, or if they have fallen behind on a few bills.

Under proposed revisions to the police department’s handgun, rifle and shotgun permit procedures, the NYPD can reject gun license applicants for a number of reasons, including:

If they have been arrested or convicted of almost any “violation,” in any state; having a “poor driving history”; having been fired for “circumstances that demonstrate lack of good judgment”; having “failed to pay legally required debts”; being deemed to lack “good moral character”; or if any other information demonstrates “other good cause for the denial of the permit.”

These absurd procedures are explicitly designed to circumvent the constitutional rights of citizens.

According to a Report of the Governmental Affairs Division, the changes came about as the result of two recent Supreme Court decisions.

“In District of Columbia v. Heller the Court found that a District of Columbia law banning the possession of handguns in the home was invalid due to the rights conferred by the Second Amendment; in McDonald v. City of Chicago, Ill., the Court applied that right equally to the States,” the report says.

Under these revisions, bureaucrats can deny the right to bear arms to people cited for failing to sweep the sidewalk, who have received traffic tickets, or who have filed for bankruptcy.

When the Second Amendment has been whittled down to nothing, the others will quickly follow.

On a tip from Wiggins. Cross-posted at Moonbattery.

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