By Anonymous

I was born, have studied, lived and worked in the greatest city in the world, New York City, for my entire life. There is a reason countless stories have spawned from NYC – because it is the center of everything. It is easy to dismiss this when you are from elsewhere, but live here long enough and you get it. Please don’t misinterpret my words.  I do not think it to be the best place to live or work. It just is what it is. Good or bad, it is the center of everything. Do not debate this fact. Plus, to compare it to anywhere else is unfair. It is not a place you uproot your family to go live because it is a friendly community with space for your kids to explore. It is more like a Disney World for life. All the rides are successful here, but will you be “tall” enough to ride? . . .

I bring this up because cities try to be like New York City and when it comes to gun rights in our country this spells disaster.  There is full-on registration of firearms in NYC. Not just assault rifles or handguns, I mean ever single firearm that is legally owned is registered with the city. I wanted to share with you my journey to become a concealed carry handgun license holder in NYC.

I was exposed to firearms at a young age, having spent my summers in the great state of Pennsylvania. I learned from am early age to respect firearms and how to safely handle them. My father and uncle would routinely bring me to an outdoor rage in order to learn, better my skills and bond. As I grew older we would go hunting together “upstate” (which to NYC residents is anywhere in New York but NYC).

I went to university to study pharmacy in Queens. This was the first time in my 17 years of living in NYC that I was exposed to gun violence. Right outside my building on campus, a man fired five shots and struck a fleeing man in the back of his leg and another in his back.

Later that same year I feel that NYC was changed forever. It was a day that made me dislike beautiful sunny Tuesdays. I lost multiple family and friends on that Tuesday in September. After that day NYC became a modern day police state. If you do not think this is true, try to take a box truck trough the Brooklyn Battery tunnel and tell them they don’t have a right to search your truck. People are quick to give up rights to have the illusion of safety. I even felt this way as well. I realized I do not know if I would be like Sly Stallone and be able to escape the tunnel before meeting my end.

I recently opened a retail store and after a year of being open, I decided to apply for a handgun permit. I had to go to One Police Plaza which is the NYC police headquarters to pay $340 for the application an $91.50 to be finger printed. Now I have read many people’s anecdotes about getting their CCW in other states. Where they park and walk into their local police station and spoke with a friendly officer or receptionist and they receive their permit in the mail. One Police Plaza might as well be a military installation.

First because of where it is situated, the closest you can park is about 1/2 mile away.  When you approach there are two guard houses. One for employees and one for visitors. The visitors guard house contains a setup similar to airport security with magnetometer, X-ray machines and a number of armed officers. Once you are checked out, you proceed to a kiosk that requires you to enter your name and have your picture taken. You are then rewarded with a slip of paper with a bar code and your picture.

You then proceed about 50 yards to the main building. Upon entering you are greeted by two more officers that check your ID against the computer printout and they ask were you are headed. They place that information on a sticky name tag and ask that you attach that to you shirt.

I then walked to the correct room and I was asked to be seated to wait my turn. Now through this whole process everyone was very nice and courteous. However sitting there waiting for my name to be called I felt on edge, as if I was not allowed there or if I was waiting to be call into the principal’s office. I was nervous to be asking for the permission to exercise a constitutional right. Seems odd to me now but at the time it was a way to keep me safe.

I waited about 2 months to be called for my interview. I again had to report to One Police Plaza and speak with my investigative officer. We had a brief chat where he asked me some questions and told me how the rest of the process would go. He told me that there would be a mental health check and FBI search of some sort. This is on top of the binder full of documents that I was required to bring with me. Again, a terribly nice guy.

I received my approval about a month later. I had 30 days to report back to One Police Plaza or else I would have to start the process again. When I got there to get my license they take your photo, give you your new license and a slip that gives the FFL the permission to sell you a handgun, which you have another 30 days to obtain. Once you purchase the firearm you have 72 hours to have it inspected and REGISTERED to your license. I decided to get this all done in one day due to how much time away from my business this process was causing. I went to a FFL that is a quick cab ride from One Police Plaza.

After I purchase my firearm, a trigger lock and a lock for the outside of the case, I received a friendly reminder from FFL dealer not to have any ammo on me when going back to have my gun inspected which would mean immediate arrest for bringing a loaded firearm to One Police Plaza. The whole experience was rushed and hurried I had to get back before 2 pm.

I returned to the visitors guard house and they x-rayed my bag and gave me a big sign that stated “Unloaded Firearm”. I reported to my investigating officer and he inspected and registered my firearm and gave me a new license with the serial number, a description, and caliber of my gun. I thanked him for the privilege and went on my way.

The privilege? Yes, this is how I felt – privileged to be grated permission. I hold numerous federal and state licenses to purchase and transport narcotics and chemicals of all sorts but those are privileges granted to me because of my education and hard work. Is the second amendment to be treated the same way?

I had the firearm in my backpack, locked up tight, and headed to the subway to return to work. As I was slowing my hurried pace and looked around as I began to realize something had changed, but not with anyone else around me. I was now carrying a handgun concealed, although unloaded, and no one else knew but me.

Not that I was somehow more macho or part of the sheepdog club. Nothing like that, actually far from it. I began to think about all the others that are carrying all around me. Could it be in her purse or in his waist band are they licensed, are they law enforcement,  or are they a criminal? The thing that had changed is that I now understood how the gun laws are there for people that are law abiding. That it didn’t stop the criminals from obtaining and carrying firearms.

I am writing these words not just to let you know my experience, but for you to realize how important these times are. Most people I know in this great and influential city give up many of their rights to feel safe, but it is all an illusion. The criminals are just that…criminals, and do not abide by the laws. Our protectors, the NYPD, are good but they are not Superman and therefore not faster than a speeding bullet. I hope this gives everyone some perspective on how your town, too can become a police state of sorts. We need to be vocal and active and most of all, responsible with our rights. If we are to be responsible for our own protection, then we must be also for our action and words.

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73 COMMENTS

    • No, but the accompanying picture certainly does. A quick review of that “training aid” shows essentially the kind of behavior one would expect from a non CCW (“illegal”) concealed carier. No holster, gun loose in the waistband or a pocket, etc.

      Almost anyone with a “legal” concealed weapon would have it secured in a holster and being less concerned with police interaction (as a rule) would not be making furtive or protective actions regarding said pistol.

      Leads me to believe that in the New York police state they simply assume ANYONE with a concealed weapon must be a criminal. I wonder how many of the more intelligent criminals they miss while watching for the kind of mooks this poster describes?

  2. Thank you for offering thid perspective.

    I enjoy seeing this mindset alive & well.

    I would just offer to contend that anywhere else I would rather live is better than what you labled as the greatest city in the world.

    The fact it is a police state, ruled by arrogant and reality challenged officials means I will never again visit the Big Apple. Sorry.

  3. Think of the outrage and possible civil unrest or even war that would come about if you had to jump thru a half of these hoops to exercise your right to vote. Yet kapo bloomberg sees no problem at all with turning a right into a privilege. “Shall not be infringed.”

  4. You remind me of Neo from The Matrix. You’ve awakened from a perfect dream to find you had everything but your freedom. It’s possible to be too tall for a ride.

    Blessings to you.

  5. Unless this is sarcasm…. you seem to have a contradiction here:

    “Our protectors, the NYPD….. some perspective on how your town, too can become a police state of sorts”

    Are they our “protectors” or our “jailers” in your estimation?

  6. if only people had to do as much to register to vote . . . . .there would be marches in the streets, cries of racism, protests at city hall, people attacked with dogs and hoses . . . . oh wait.

  7. I’m New York City born and raised. Is it the greatest city in the world? I don’t know. I haven’t been to every other city in the world, so I’d be guessing. But to me, calling NYC “the greatest city” is, at best, damning it with faint praise. It’s an anthill, and most of the ants are poisonous.

    All I know for sure is that one of the happiest days of my life was when I left NYC and its people behind me. You’ll see, Anonymous. There will come a day when you simply cannot wait another moment to leave. You’ll go someplace where you can breathe, and maybe be free.

    • Ditto here. Born and raised in the NYC. Loved it till it changed to what it is today. Had to do the bird. Happy to live in a state where the 2nd amendment still means something of substance.

      • I imagine I’ll feel epic gratitude when I leave CA. There isn’t much freedom here, and Feinstein / Boxer / Yee / De Leon et seem to be succeeding at making things worse. The real burner is that many people here still respect their opinions, which is what gives them power. NYC has a great history, but operates in even more of a police state mentality than most of LA. I have zero desire to return to NYC. Screw that.

        In Orange County, you can hike mountains, surf the oceans, meet beautiful women, and obtain a concealed carry permit. Not too bad, all things considered.

    • It took me a while to get back into the piece after reading:

      “I was born, have studied, lived and worked in the greatest city in the world, New York City… it is the center of everything… it is the center of everything. Do not debate this fact.”

      and thinking, “debatable”.

      Honestly, I never understood the fascination with NYC. Visited a few times, and it’s just a city; a BIG city, but just a city none-the-less. I think maybe you lose sight of that if you’re from NYC.

      Anyways, sounds like a rough place and a rough way to live. A gentle suggestion to the author: now that you’ve started to wake up, keep looking around. At some point, your need for freedom may suddenly overtake your habit of living in “the greatest city evar”, and it would be a good idea to have an idea of the places you could go.

      • I never got what is so great about NYC either. Yes it’s big, but it’s dirty, the people are dirty and rude, streets full of trash, septic smell almost everywhere, and everything costs more for no good reason. Only reason it’s “so great” is because there is alot of money there. If it weren’t for that nobody would give 2 cents for that city. Even Philly seems clean after visting NYC, which says alot.

  8. “I have studied, lived and worked in the greatest city in the world, New York City…”

    Bwaaaah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha…. …oh….

  9. It never ceases to amaze me just how much gun laws vary from State to State. In mine, a suitable holster doubles up as a concealed carry permit.

  10. Another great read.

    This statement said it all:

    “People are quick to give up rights to have the illusion of safety.”

    This is the gun control advocates end goal. The illusion of safety – everywhere. Everyone as safe as possible – basically slaves, but safe slaves.

  11. I’ve got an extra 20 or 30 minutes to spare right now, think I’ll go buy a gun.

    Thank God for Texas! Let me repeat that, Thank God for Texas!

    • I used to say that too…except it was CO. Now I’m just hoping the suit overturns this stupid magazine law.

    • Ohio here but +1 all the same. The only thing standing between me and carrying a new gun this afternoon is 30 min and the cash for the weapon. Why would anyone want to live under such tyranny, especially POTG? Forgive me for saying it but that’s not the greatest city in the world, it’s a vile, seething pit of tyrants and subjects and anyone who knows better and stays anyway, paying the taxes and living in their grand experiment is supporting that nightmare. If you ever find that you really want to see what liberty is, fortunately there are still places you can go.

  13. some usable info but Anonymous should skip the self-reverential treepeeing, it makes him appear to be a puffed-up pretender and reader of Recoil mag, which I’m sure is not the case at all.

  14. “There is a reason countless stories have spawned from NYC – because it is the center of everything.”

    uuuuhhhh,,,,, NO. Not even close. Have no idea what else you said or even if its relevant, couldn’t get past the arrogance and ignorance/stupidity of that statement.

    • “There is a reason countless stories have spawned from NYC – because it is the center of everything.”

      Anon says that after stating that he/she was born, raised, and has lived in NYC his/her entire life… It’s the center of his/her everything, nothing more. NYC is a cesspool, the living conditions are awful, the government is awful, the people are awful. “Angelenos” share the same naive view of their urban swamp. The fact that the notion of firearm ownership being a privilege ever entered your head speaks volumes. Enjoy your slavery, serf.

  15. After nearly vomiting at the first paragraph, I finally read through this to understand that the first paragraph was meant as farce, and the remainder was a warning that The Big Armpit is as bad as it seems or worse. Why anyone would slave there is a mystery to me.

    • It’s not that much of a mystery why so many live there and are glad for it. Whether it’s desire, accident of birth or some other factor, far too many people just aren’t cut out for freedom, independence and self reliance. The hive suits them just fine, where they may drone on with their lives in a relatively blissful ignorance. May their chains rest lightly.

  16. Thought I was reading Orwell for a bit.

    Thanks for writing this – it’s an experience gun owners in free(er) states should all read about.

  17. 1. TLTR
    2. The author destroyed all credibility with “I was born…lived and worked in the greatest city in the world, New York City, for my entire life.

  18. I’m from NY… left 4 years ago never going back… this who think its the center of the universe have not travelled the universe much

  19. one of the reasons i left NYC and one of the reasons i did not want to go through the journey and expense of getting the CCW

  21. You really need to get out more. I have never lived in NY but worked there for several years. I quickly left for another job and traveled and worked on both coasts and in Toronto Canada as well as Germany. I stopped traveling for my company some time ago and only get called when the SHTF with a contract or client. I have visited all the BRIC countries and due to my photography habit, only visit NYC for a trip into B&H Photo. If you look around, NYC talks a big game but is neither the center of everything or the end all be all.

    I enjoyed your write-up, but have to disagree on the importance of NYC. If anything, it has arrogance and grandiose self importance because of all the major MSM being located there and has been popularized in movies and TV. It may be even a nice place to visit, but I would never want to live there after seeing the world and finding other options.

  22. Hate to burst your bubble but you didnt get a CCW just a plain old permit for the house. I lived in NYC my entire life and moved last year. It is a place like no other but i wouldnt say its the greatest city in the world. I had a great time growing up in NYC and starting off my adult life but things have changed. Its a rat race between rich people, poor people and hipsters.

  23. Unless I’m mistaken, this article is describing the process to get what amounts to an ownership permit, NOT any sort of Concealed Carry permit. I am sad for those of you living behind enemy lines.

    • If so, it is far more difficult to buy a firearm in NY than it is to get a CWP in most other states.

  24. Funny how we can tie ourselves to a city. I have lived in the Chicago area for 13 years. I love this city. But now I can’t wait to leave. And I don’t know how often I will visit once I do leave. Eventually, you realize that freedom matters far more than the excitement you experienced as a 25-year old.

  25. Aside from the trite in the first paragraph, I rather enjoyed this article. My only experience is carrying in the midwest, where the right to be left be is assumed. Good to know this experience exists over on the coast.
    I want no part of it.

  26. Wow. Now I really, really, really don’t want to go to NYC, as opposed to just really, really no wanting to go.

    Also, that graphic is fascinating. Good food for thought.

    • The graphic reads like a probable cause justification outline. That is if they want to stop you they can cite this report when they lie about how they observed you walking favoring one leg.

  27. “It just is what it is. Good or bad, it is the center of everything. Do not debate this fact.”

    — The only reason I read this post was to get to the punch line that was never delivered. This was a joke, right? BTW, my cat knows that he is the center of the universe and I know not to debate it with him.

  28. The land of seven round magazine limits.
    Pure libtard (democrat) insanity.
    Never ever vote libtard (democrat) AGAIN.

  29. Hard to imagine there has not been a court challenge to this process.
    Infringe? Way beyond infringe on the Second Amendment.

  30. Eh, I was born and raised in Brooklyn. “Greatest city”, “do not debate me on this”. Spoken like a real dbag, I mean NY’er. NY might be a cool place sometimes but it’s still a police city state. I left the city but not the state. That day draws near and I can’t wait.

  31. Great can be said in many ways, but really? Great maybe in overlycrowded, overly expensive and overly haughty. If NYC vanished into thin air, the only damage would be to mere imaginary wealth and such finacial instruments that exist only in our imagination (Wall Street). It produces nothing, has no real wealth. And all that info is backed up elsewhere.

    Now at least California (for all that may be said of it, it is like libertarian paradise compared to New York) produces more food than any other state, produces oil (and oddly does not tax it like Alaska or Texas does, I mean the drilling, not the gas station). I will see nothing at all to like about NYC. It is a wholly unnatural beast, even were it to be less fascist. Now San Francisco, on the other hand, all you have to do is remove 80-90% of the population and it is a great city, with real natural resources and splendor.

    I suppose some people love to escape nature and live in modern day Babels, with no land or real ownership of anything, but just apartments and skyscrapers circled by dereliction. I cannot fathom it. I get sick physically being in New York.

    • I agree, at least CA is pretty and has palm trees and mountains, NYC just has trash and ugly.

  32. I am an assigned counsel (public defender) in New York for over 20 years . . . full carry license for cause (actual threat related to my work). Have appeared from the smallest village court to the US Supreme, 2nd, 3rd, 9th Circuits. Even had a gun shoved in my face by a fugitive as 4 feds sat in a car 15 ft away watching it happen. They wouldn’t lift a finger to help me because I was defending a guy they were after. I CANNOT CARRY IN NYC BECAUSE MY WORK POSES NO MORE RISK THAN THE AVERAGE JOB. Doesn’t matter I investigate the same criminal activity as the cops, and I’m, already licensed in 30 something states to carry concealed. CCW is a fiction in NYC. Only government forces (including retirees and feds) can be armed. Everyone else has no “right,” to anything. Your school teachers lied to all of you about all of your “rights.” They do not exist, and have not existed for a number of years.

  33. Sounds easier to pack in Singapore. How can democrats scream for freedom while creating a police state? Lets leave the power and decision making to ‘Big Gov’, who cant do a damn thing cheaply or effectively.

    • When were they screaming for freedom? I missed it. I did hear the “More money” bit and the “you promised us cool stuff” thing. I missed the freedom bit. Of course they championed “Affordable Healthcare” which turns out to cost me 40% more. I guess “free” is “affordable,” and it’s for someone else.

      • Your correct. Libtard freedom really isn’t freedom at all. Sort of a quasi ‘if it feels good’ communal thing where the real world ramifications and solutions are swept under the rug or belittled and ignored.
        As hated as the corporations are, they can never be as nasty as ‘Big Gov’ (who has a part in them, anyway) because ‘Big Gov’ can KILL you, in the end (as history shows, from other countries, in other times).

  34. That which I think the court’s must ultimately recognize is that the very essence of “may issue” ccw is a denial of the existence of a right to bear arms, reducing it to a mere privilege accorded by official whim. To say that a citizen has to have a “special” reason in excess of the “average” risk to be allowed to carry is to say that the average citizen has no right to carry a weapon, only a privilege upon proof of need.

  35. It is simply typical of NYC that a resident writing about gun-rights denial uses the name ‘Anonymous.’

    The bankers and the miscellaneous rich cherish the Hudson and the East Rivers simply as effective moats to forestall attacks by hordes of righteously angry citizens enraged by the concentration of financial power, power that survives only because the tax-payer’s credit rating is Wall Street’s plaything, our currency and our credit. They decide when to dilute our currency or make it more scarce. They rely on our debt, Treasuries, as the grease, collateral, that makes their leveraged trades possible. They’re probably wise to insist on moats.

    The problem isn’t that you can’t get a carry permit in NYC. The problem is that the bankers have a moat around Manhattan. And you can’t carry guns there. But they can freely send very dangerous money to Washington. Our weapons are illegal. Theirs, money, is actively encouraged. What a deal!

    Political bribery is for practical purposes legal if undertaken with decorum and moderation. Threatening violence against the bribers is not. Guess who wins with those rules. As Warren Buffet recently said, “there’s a class war being fought and my class is winning.” Simple. Private guns on the streets of Manhattan? Preposterous! Ask the bankers.

  36. New York City is indeed the greatest city on Earth. … Now here’s a question. If you own a shop in NYC but are not an NYC resident can you still get a concealed carry permit? Therein lies the question.

    • Of course you can’t get a CCW if you own a store. They don’t issue them. Period. You live in NYC and don’t know this? Greatest city? Quite nice if you live on Central Park or the better blocks of midtown. Otherwise? No. So much is dilapidated. So many of the people are relatively poor and ill-educated. Did I mention you can’t speak the national language for ten blocks east of Riverside Drive? That much of the Bronx and Brooklyn looks like a set for “The Road”?

      • If you live in NY, carry anyway. Better judged by twelve than carried by six. The law of God and nature trump the laws of Bloomfreak.
        If you only have 7 in your home defense weapon (that aint a shotgun or 5/6/7shooter revolver) your a pathetic weakling.

  37. Great article. Thank you for sharing. I haven’t visited NYC in years. I have friends and family who live there. I always enjoyed the art, culture and history of the place. But I know, I would not want to live in the place that you describe.

  38. Had this entry won, could he even have taken possession of the FNS-9? There are no seven round magazines made for it, just 10 and 17 rounds.

  39. In the US NY may be the central, difinitive city. However, by saying “in the world” you forget about the first true world cities of London and Paris, more so London. It was, and remains a central international hub that exceeds, or is at least on par, with NYC in international importance. Tokyo, and likely Beijing might make similar claims.

  40. I make it a firm rule to go nowhere my Glock is
    not also welcome. It’s called an “inalienable right”
    for good reason. Never leave home without it
    because your life may depend on it. A place that
    violates this most vital and sacred right will
    violate anything else and is to be trusted with
    nothing,

  41. As literature, the “NYC is the best” statement was appropriate for the article. Do not fault the author for that. It sets up the self-centeredness of NYC, itself. NYC is above and beyond the Constitution, and full of itself. The author, being from NYC, was merely following the mantra of that city, and revealing it through himself.

    By the end of the article, the author has realized that NYC is flawed and that he is not truly free there. We are left hoping that he no longer feels “NYC is the best” and we are warned to not let the people where we each live to give up freedom like the residents of NYC have.

  42. “are they licensed, are they law enforcement, or are they a criminal”

    if it comes to a choice between those three, i choose criminal.

  43. “I hold numerous federal and state licenses to purchase and transport narcotics and chemicals of all sorts but those are privileges granted to me because of my education and hard work.”

    None of those should be privileges either. They should be your right as a Citizen/Legal Resident of the U.S.

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