New York Cop Starts Petition to Revise National Carry Law

CLARKSTOWN, NY — A local police officer has started a national petition to remove two restrictions from the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act that limit the ability of active and retired police officers to carry their weapons nationwide.

The intent of this law was to eliminate barriers to officers carrying weapons across state lines, which in some instances was a necessity just to commute to work, said Dan Weisberg, a Clarkstown Police Department lieutenant who started the petition on change.org.

The intent of the act, and its subsequent revisions, is quite clear, said Weisberg: Trained, armed police officers are a good thing, and there should be a consistent federal model rather than allowing individual states to set laws prohibiting off duty police officers from carrying weapons.

However, the act, simply known as the national carry law, has two provisions that effectively disarm the very officers the law was intended to benefit, he said. The first is the provision allowing an owner of private premises to decide whether an officer can carry a weapon onto those premises. The second is the fact that under LEOSA officers are still subject to the prohibition of carrying weapons in any gun free school safety zone.

Weisberg, a law enforcement officer for 40 years, has made off-duty arrests in his career. Yet, as he describes in the petition, he wasn't allowed into a concert in New York City because he was carrying his gun as he is supposed to do. (He came up with an ingenious solution.)

"I know now to call in advance to ascertain any venue’s policy on off duty law enforcement and firearms," Weisberg said. "More and more are banning weapons, and some tell you ridiculous things such as 'lock it in your car.' Unless your car is actually equipped with a lock box for weapons, being told to leave a weapon in a car is extremely naive and irresponsible, and just points out how ill-equipped these “security” personnel are. Frankly, when you arrive at most venues, their security is not equipped or trained to deal with armed intruders. Some have off-duty officers moonlighting, but many have unarmed, and poorly trained security staff that they rely upon. For most people, that means leaving the weapon at home, the result being you have totally disarmed officers which to me defeats the intent of the LEOSA."

He is seeking signatures for his petition, which is addressed to Donald Trump, Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and Pete King.

"The safety of our citizens can not be understated, and we may now have a President who might be able to help make this happen," he said.

The petition itself can be found on change.org.