WASHINGTON, DC –Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) today called on the U.S. Senate to reject an amendment to this year’s Defense Authorization Act that would allow concealed firearms in New York State.

“The Thune amendment creates a national standard for concealed weapons—essentially requiring New York to operate under the same gun laws as Dodge City. It goes against any semblance of common sense, would endanger public safety and wipe out New York’s ability to place sensible restrictions on guns in densely populated urban areas,” said Maloney.

“It’s imperative that the Senate stand up to the National Rifle Association and reject this far-reaching provision which would allow dangerous individuals who obtain permits in states with little or no permit requirements to come to New York and legally carry loaded concealed weapons in public. It is outrageous and must be stopped,” Maloney said.

Amendment No. 1618 to the Defense Authorization Act (S. 1390), has been introduced by Senator John Thune (R-SD) and the Senate will vote on it as early as this evening, July 20.  Under this Amendment, an individual who obtains a permit to carry a concealed weapon, commonly referred to as CCW (Concealed Carry Weapon) licenses, in any state would be permitted to carry that weapon in effectively any state. The result would be that a resident of a state, like New York, with tight restrictions on concealed weapons who could not qualify for a concealed weapons permit under their own state law, could now receive a non-resident permit from another state with a lower threshold, and police in their state of residence would be forced to honor that permit.