Clout - The most exclusive

Clout - The most exclusive club in New York City? Easy - people who can get concealed carry handgun permits.

And as is often the case in areas with strict gun control laws, it's the celebrities and goverment apparatchiks who get the permits, as this Newsday article shows. Regular citizens are undefended, while government figures and celebrities can get them for the asking.

Especially interesting how many guns went to aides of highly-anti-gun-rights former mayor Giuliani.

Here's the partial list:

Handgun Permits

The Numbers For 2002

Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, compared to same period last year

FORMER GIULIANI AIDES

Joel Miele - Environmental Protection Commissioner
Richard Sheirer - Emergency Management Director
Anthony Carbonetti - Chief of Staff
Jerry Cammarata - Youth/Community Development Commissioner [The Youth Commissioner needs a gun?]
Bernard Kerik - Police Commissioner
Kevin Farrell - Sanitation Commissioner [the head garbageman needs a gun? They must take their trash seriously...]

MTA OFFICIALS [Transit executives with guns!]
Lawrence Reuter - NYC Transit President
Joseph Hofmann - NYC Transit Senior Vice President
Thomas Savage - MetroCard operations chief
Michael Ascher - Bridges and Tunnels President
David Mack - Vice Chairman
Rudy Washington, former deputy mayor - Board Member
James Simpson - Board Member

ENTERTAINMENT FIGURES
Tommy Mottola - Record executuve [For protection from ex-wife Mariah Carey, we presume...]
Steven Seagal
Buddy Hackett [Buddy Hackett needs a gun? Buddy Hackett is allowed a gun?]
Robert De Niro
Harvey Keitel
Chazz Palminteri
Howard Stern
Don Imus

OTHERS

Richard A. Brown - Queens DA
Leslie Crocker Snyder - State Supreme Court
Fernando Mateo - Livery-driver advocate
Winthrop Rockefeller - Millionaire
Donald Trump - Developer [Amazing]
William F. Buckley - Columnist [and one of few anti-Second-Amendment conservatives at that...]
Joseph L. Bruno - State Senate Majority Leader

Of course, it's not much different in Minnesota - clout counts.

Not, as it happens, being a crime victim.

All the more reason to pass the Personal Protection Act.

Posted by Mitch at October 1, 2002 11:50 AM