As yet another mass shooting has a gun control debate roiling the country, a sheriff in New York is urging gun owners to bring their firearms out with them.
Sheriff Paul J. Van Blarcum of Ulster County — which is about two hours north of New York City — posted the message on the sheriff office’s Facebook and Twitter.
Blarcum confirmed the authenticity of the notice to TPM over the phone.
“All I was trying to do is remind people that we’re partners with the public in safety and crime prevention,” he said. “So if you are legally licensed to carry a firearm and if you feel like you’re proficient enough in it, you’re responsible and you’re up on the laws in the state of the New York, we encourage you to carry a firearm.”
Open carry is illegal in New York, but conceal carry is permitted with the proper licensing. Blacrum said he encourages people coming into his county to become licensed gun owners and that, “We have over 10,000 permits out there.”
“If you look around the United States in the past bunch of years and around the world, whenever there’s these mass shootings, you never hear of anybody standing up and firing back,” Blacrum said. “I want people to be aware of that.”
