Applications for rifle permits in New York City have surged by nearly 340% in the first six months of this year, according to a new report.
City residents submitted 340% more rifle and shotgun permits from Jan. 1 to June 28 compared to data from the same time period last year, according to New York Police Department data reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
From January until the end of June, 1,492 New Yorkers filed for rifle permits, compared to 441 during the same six-month span in 2019.
Handgun permit applications also surged this year to the tune of 149% when compared to 2019 data. The NYPD data show 2,338 people applied for handgun licenses from January to June, while only 1,571 applied for the permits during the same time frame in 2019.
The report comes after FBI data showed 52,252 background checks were conducted for residents looking to buy guns in New York in June, a 121% spike compared to June 2019.
As New Yorkers look to owning guns legally, the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, announced a lawsuit last week to dissolve the National Rifle Association.
“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” James said. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA because no organization is above the law.”
New York City has been ravaged by gun violence in recent months amid protests and riots sparked by the death of George Floyd on Memorial Day.
The number of shootings that have taken place in New York City so far this year is nearly double what was reported last year during the same time period.
In one week in July, shootings in the city increased by 176% compared to the same week last year, with 47 shootings reported compared to 17 shootings last year. Additionally, murders also increased that week, with 14 killed compared to five during the same time frame in 2019.
