Shooting range owner John Deloca points his pistol at his shooting range in Queens, New York on June 23, 2022.
Ed Jones | AFP | Getty Images
With a pile of warning signs missed in the mass murder investigation, New York is developing a new strategy to screen applicants for gun permits. People who try to carry a hidden pistol will be required to hand over their social media account for their “personality and behavior” review.
This is an approach that has been admired by many Democrats and gun control advocates across the country, but some experts question how the law will be enforced and address concerns about freedom of speech. I am.
Some local civil servants who are tasked with reviewing social media content are asking if they have the resources, and in some cases even the law is constitutional.
Peter Keho, Managing Director of the New York Sheriffs Association, said sheriffs have not received additional funding or personnel to process the new application process. He claims that the law violates the rights of Article 2 of the Constitutional Amendment, and applicants need to list social media accounts, but I don’t think local civil servants will necessarily see them.
“I don’t think we’ll do that,” Keho said. “I think it would be a violation of constitutional privacy.”
The new requirements, which came into force in September, were included in the law passed last week. Supreme Court ruled Most people have the right to carry a pistol to protect an individual. Signed by Democratic Governor Kathy Hokul. He said archers may telegram their intentions to hurt others.
More and more young men Go online to drop tips on what’s coming Before performing a mass murder involving a shooter who killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Under the law, applicants are required to provide local government officials with a list of current and previous social media accounts for the last three years. It is up to the local sheriff staff, the judge, or the national secretary to scroll through these profiles to see if the applicant has made statements that suggest dangerous behavior.
The law also requires applicants to be trained in safety for hours, prove proficient in shooting, provide references to the four characters, and be interviewed directly.
Governor of New York, Cathy Hockle, speaks to the media in a vow at a ceremony held at the New York State Legislature in Albany, New York on August 24, 2021.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images
The law was said by the Supreme Court’s ruling, Tanya Chart, senior adviser to Brady, a gun control advocate, and head of state and federal policy.
Her group said they were unaware of other states requiring gun permit applicants to submit social media profiles.
However, a new approach arose in the face of growing debate about cracking down on social media posts and the legacy of unjustified surveillance of the black and brown communities.
“The question is whether we can do this in an anti-racist way that does not produce another series of violence, the national violence that occurs through surveillance.” Social Policy, Communication, at the University of Pennsylvania. Desmond Upton Patton, a professor of medicine, said he founded SAFElab, a research initiative to study violence involving young people of color.
Meanwhile, gun advocates have blown up the law.
“New York wants to scrutinize you to find out if you are part of a dangerous law-abiding citizen who is raiding the country and rampaging crime, so you tell them yours. You need to tell your social media account, “said Jared Yanis, host of the YouTube channel Guns & Gadgets, in a widely watched video about the new law. “What did you come to?”
Hochul, who left the state police to eliminate extremism online, did not immediately answer the list of questions about social media requirements, such as how the state deals with free speech and privacy concerns. did.
“Often the question is: How can I enforce this?” Professor James Densley, a professor of criminal justice at Metro State University, is a co-founder of the research initiative’s violence project. Said. “I think it started opening the can of worms a bit, because no one completely knows the best way to do it.”
He said it can be difficult to decipher social media posts by young people who just express themselves by posting music videos.
“What makes this tricky is how expressive it is and how much evidence of this misconduct,” Densley said.
A spokesperson for Facebook, Twitter, 4Chan, and Parler’s social media platform did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
New York instead shows signs of radicalization and trauma, working with trained groups whose mission is to find the best way to reach out to online people who may be in need of help. Patton said he should consider giving.
“There are a lot of nuances and contextual issues. We speak differently. How we communicate, which can be misunderstood,” says Patton. “I’m worried that we don’t have the right people and the right tools to do this in a way that actually helps prevent violence.”
Adam Scott Want, a professor of public policy at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, supports gun control, but New York law seeks other types of licenses on social media activities. He said he was concerned that it might set a precedent for compulsory disclosure. From the state.
New York law is rushed and ambiguous, said Want, who teaches law enforcement officers how to search for people through social media.
“I think what we might have done here as a state of New York may have confirmed their worst fears: slippery slopes are created, the right to carry guns is gradually diminished, and bureaucrats can decide. It’s going to be like, who has a gun, who doesn’t, about unclear criteria. ” “This is exactly what the Supreme Court was trying to avoid.”
