Gov. Kathy Hochul: Supreme Court gun law ruling is "reprehensible" given nationwide gun violence crisis
Gov. Kathy Hochul said she is strongly against the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Thursday that struck down a 108-year-old New York law limiting who can obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun in public.
The New York governor told "CBS Mornings" on Friday that the state plans to respond to that ruling, and that decision was "reprehensible."
"We believe that the decision was shocking in its scale and also reprehensible given that we are experiencing a nationwide gun violence crisis," she said.
For those who are cheering the ruling, Hochul said that the state was never looking to take away anyone's Second Amendment protection but instead just wants to protect people.
"We never were taking away your right to possess a gun. We have a right to restrict who has it and where they use this gun," she said.
"If someone wants a legal gun licensed protection in their home that is their domain, they did do that. We've always allowed for that. For hunting and other purposes," she added. "To think that someone would be able to do this on a subway, in a crowded, you know, tense situation during rush hour, no, no. We have a right to protect our citizens, not take away your right to own."
The court's decision comes on the heels of a deadly grocery store shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., that killed 10 people.
Hochul said that the ruling is going to make it harder for police to do their jobs. Hochul said that the state has already drafted legislation and plans to go to a special session next week to discuss the ruling.
"How will they know whether this is someone who has an illegal gun about to go commit a crime versus someone who may have the concealed carry license? So it's complicating things," she said. "What we had in place for 100 years in the state worked. Didn't strip away rights. Protect our citizens. I'm the governor, my job is to protect the people of this state. They've complicated this tremendously and we're standing up."