My honest to goodness reaction when I saw this story was “Only 34,500?”:
A newly created database of New Yorkers deemed too mentally unstable to carry firearms has grown to roughly 34,500 names, a previously undisclosed figure that has raised concerns among some mental health advocates that too many people have been categorized as dangerous.
The database, established in the aftermath of the mass shooting in 2012 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and maintained by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, is the result of the Safe Act. It is an expansive package of gun control measures pushed through by the administration of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. The law, better known for its ban on assault weapons, compels licensed mental health professionals in New York to report to the authorities any patient “likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to self or others.”
But the number of entries in the database highlights the difficulty of America’s complicated balancing act between public safety and the right to bear arms when it comes to people with mental health issues. “That seems extraordinarily high to me,” said Sam Tsemberis, a former director of New York City’s involuntary hospitalization program for homeless and dangerous people, now the chief executive of Pathways to Housing, which provides housing to the mentally ill. “Assumed dangerousness is a far cry from actual dangerousness.”
Unless NYC and New York have changed a helluva lot since the last time I was there (several years), you can walk a dozen blocks and cover an area with at least 34k people who most definitely should not own firearms. Right about now, there are probably at least that many diehard Jets fans who should own a gun.
*** Update ***
Via the comments, the NYPD FAQ:
How many Police Officers are there in the NYPD?
The NYPD’s current uniformed strength is approximately 34,500.
Hrmmm.