New York Gun Owners Talk Safety, Regulation and the Law

The recent shooting massacre in Southern California has once again put the spotlight on gun laws and gun culture in America. With some of the strictest firearms regulations in the country, New York City is a bit of an outlier. Weapon owners practicing at one of the city’s few shooting ranges, on West 20^th Street, said government oversight is a good thing.

Take Victor Mirontschuk. He lives in Manhattan and has two pistols in his home in a safe.

Mirontschuk said it's much more difficult to get a license in New York, compared with his home state of Arkansas. “And I don't think there's anything wrong with that.”

He said stricter gun laws can only do so much to prevent violence, but other parts of the country should have laws closer to New York's.

"It took me I dunno six, eight months to get a license here. You gotta fill out paperwork, get background checks and then you gotta come in for a personal interview," he said.

Also visiting the shooting range on Sunday was Max Tov of Manhattan. He said he keeps a handgun and a semiautomatic pistol in his apartment. He said existing gun laws need to be enforced but maybe not strengthened. And as far as he's concerned, more Americans should carry weapons for their protection.

“If you think about it... so many shootings have taken place in universities, gun free zones, things like that and nobody's shooting up police precincts or shooting ranges... Why? Because people can shoot you back,” Tov said. “In university, on campus, in schools and places where you're not supposed to carry a gun, that's where most of the stuff occurs. So innocent victims, they suffer because I dunno what are you gonna do? Throw your pen at the shooter?”

Tov said he's not trying hard to convince others to adopt his view and pick up guns.

“I gave up on encouraging people, it's everybody's personal decision,” he said, adding that he doesn’t like to argue.

WNYC would like to know, whether you choose to own a firearm or not, have recent events made you think differently about it? Call us at 855-8-MY-WNYC to leave your thoughts. We may share them on the air.