Leaked NYPD Document: Presume People Carrying Guns Are Doing So Illegally

A Legal Bureau Bulletin from the New York Police Department (NYPD) says that officers are to maintain a mindset that people carrying guns are in violation of the law “until proven otherwise.”

The August 2022 bulletin comes as numerous new areas in New York have been labeled “sensitive” for the purpose of barring concealed carry in those areas, even by concealed carry permit holders.

Breitbart News reported Wednesday that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) posted a list showing exactly where law-abiding citizens will be forbidden from being armed for self-defense:

The new gun-free zones are part of New York Democrats’ reaction to the Supreme Court’s June 23, 2022, ruling, which struck down New York’s proper cause requirement for concealed carry permit issuance.

The leaked NYPD document, obtained by Project Veritas, shows the police department’s reaction to the myriad new gun-free zones is to presume that any gun being carried by someone other than an officer is being carried illegally.

The document says, “The Supreme Court decision does not change the way the Department conducts investigative encounters. People who are carrying firearms in New York State are presumed to be doing so unlawfully, until proven otherwise.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.