The Forecast for Gun Rights in New York City Isn’t Looking Good…At All

New York City residents already face some of the strictest gun control regulations of any municipality in the country. But if the Democrat nominee for mayor – current New York State Assemblyman and self-described Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani – wins the mayoral election in November, it could quickly go from bad to worse.

In a city plagued by horrible, unthinkable crime, law-abiding New Yorkers have increasingly turned to purchasing and possessing their own firearms over the past few years while crime surged and law enforcement budgets were cut.

Assemblyman Mamdani, if his past statements are to be believed, would further restrict the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding New York City residents. That would be at the same time as he carries out a mass reduction in the number of police officers on the street, leaving the city an even more dangerous place for peaceful New Yorkers. Mamdani has waffled on previous policy positions such as his move from enthusiastically supported defunding police to now claiming to support current spending levels.

New York City could find itself in a “the patients are running the asylum” situation, only with violent criminals increasingly in control.

Ban Them All

Assemblyman Mamdani handily beat former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democrat mayoral primary last month, likely extinguishing any hopes that the disgraced former governor – who himself has an abysmal track record on gun rights – could mount any effective political comeback. Former Gov. Cuomo, however, is on a third-party ballot line and says he is still considering all options.

Likewise current Mayor Eric Adams. He’s on the Independent line of the ballot and is going all out to stop the avowed socialist assemblyman from attaining higher office. Curtis Sliwa, the Founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels, a nonprofit crime prevention organization and a staunch supporter of gun rights, is the city’s Republican nominee.

But Assemblyman Mamdani is in the driver’s seat for November’s mayoral election and his gun control record is something to be taken seriously. It’s as dangerous as it is succinct.

That wasn’t a comment from several years ago that he’s attempted to walk back, as politicians often do. He tweeted that just three years ago while the city saw some of the worst crime in the country skyrocket as a result of defund the police budget cuts, criminals looting and breaking into businesses, and a surge in violent crime as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced to criminals that they wouldn’t be punished for committing many crimes.

Banning guns, however, isn’t the only anti-Second Amendment policy Mamdani has championed. According to Breitbart News, he also supports expanding the registration restrictions on law-abiding New Yorkers purchasing modern sporting rifles and even registering the social media accounts of individuals who want to buy guns.

Assemblyman Mamdani also supports expanding the reasons for someone to use New York City’s so-called “red flag” law to accuse someone of posing a threat, leading to firearm confiscation. NSSF supports these laws only if there are adequate due process protections in place. However, there aren’t any in this case and the mayoral candidate’s platform aims to trample those due process rights even further.

Men And Women in Blue are Watching

But New Yorkers concerned that Assemblyman Mamdani will make the city even more dangerous aren’t the only ones watching the mayoral campaign anxiously as November approaches. New York City’s finest are watching closely, too and are considering making some difficult decisions over the next few months.

After all, during the campaign the nominee made it known that cops weren’t his top priority when it comes to ensuring public safety.

“Mamdani’s far-left platform doesn’t include hiring more cops, a vow most other mayoral candidates made,” the New York Post reported. “Instead, he wants to create a new Department of Community Safety that operates separately from the Police Department. It would dramatically expand so-called ‘violence interrupter programs’ and mental health teams that respond to 911 calls — especially in the city’s subway system, where violent attacks by unhinged homeless people have been commonplace.”

The city’s police are rightly concerned and Mamdani’s opponents are loudly warning New Yorkers.

“He’s trying to take the existing Police Department and turn them into social workers,” Republican nominee Sliwa said. “Cops would not be able to function as they have taken their solemn oath to do, to protect us, to go out there and grab those who are committing crimes and to have them locked up.”

It’s not just political rivals who are warning about what could come. Law enforcement officials are as well.

“The city would be totally unsafe for people who live here,” Scott Munro, president of the NYPD Detectives’ Endowment Association, predicted if Assemblyman Mamdani wins the November election. “If you put a guy like him in there, our people are going to get hurt, and nobody’s going to want the job. It’s going to put recruitment back five more steps.”

One law enforcement leader told the Post officers would straight-up quit. “I’ve had guys call me and say ‘If he wins, I’m quitting.’ It’s just weird that New York City would vote for him. I know he’s not here for the police.”

That official also noted a common hypocrisy among those who support extreme gun control – that is it is “hypocritical” of Assemblyman Mamdani to accept round-the-clock, armed police-detail protection as a mayoral candidate while clearly disliking the NYPD.

Time Will Tell

The leading candidate to be New York City’s next mayor believes social workers should respond to 911 calls involving violent crimes. For the city’s 1.3 million Jewish residents, he has repeatedly refused to denounce calls for violence against them when antisemites chant “globalize the intifada.” In fact, the Assemblyman believes violence in the city is an “artificial construction,” fewer police officers are needed and more social workers should be hired to respond to crimes.

“Violence is an artificial construction.” Real violence, says Mamdani, is district attorney’s prosecuting cases. This guy’s rhetoric is actually insane: pic.twitter.com/3f6Jbt5gGq

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 30, 2025

Assemblyman Mamdani’s platform includes numerous measures that would put the safety of law-abiding New Yorkers at risk. What’s more, he’d do away with their Second Amendment rights to purchase, keep, and bear arms to protect themselves, their families and their businesses from those who ignore the law and cause violence.

The November mayoral election is just four months away. New Yorkers have some really hard thinking to do to stop Assemblyman Mamdani from reaching the pinnacle of New York City political power. The choice is clear and shouldn’t be difficult.

 

Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.