The Supreme Court may be poised to overturn Roe vs. Wade, but New York officials are concerned about another decision coming down the pike, one that could turn gun laws upside down.

In order to obtain a concealed carry permit allowing you to carry a gun outside the home, New York requires that you demonstrate a special need for self-protection. When the Supreme Court heard a challenge to that law last November, its conservative-leaning justices seemed inclined to strike it down.

What You Need To Know

  • The Supreme Court will soon rule on a challenge to New York’s concealed carry law, which requires a demonstration of special need

  • Mayor Adams raised alarms about the ruling, which is widely expected to loosen New York's restrictions

  • Adams said the city is looking at how to tailor the law, in part by restricting guns in the transit system and around schools

  • The Mayor also said Thursday he plans to reform the city’s police disciplinary system

“After what we saw the Supreme Court did on abortions, we should be very afraid,” Adams said Thursday.

Adams said the city is already looking at how it could tailor the law – for instance, by restricting guns in the transit system and around schools. “The lawyers are looking at it,” he said. “We are not sleeping on this ruling, on this decision that’s coming down. But we are concerned.”

The concern is that the ruling will flood New York’s streets with guns at the same time that crime is on the rise. Adams on Thursday repeated his line of argument that the NYPD is doing its part in combating gun violence but needs help from the courts.

“The problem is, we did our job of getting the guns off the street,” he said. “Keeping the shooters off the streets is still failing.”

Meanwhile, the Mayor said he is taking a deep dive into police discipline and promised changes are coming.

“The police commissioner and I are saying, ‘How do we revamp so that we can ensure justice prevails?’” Adams said. “And I think the current system that's in place, there are many areas that we are going to have to revamp and reform.”