Planning on Drinking? Leave Your Gun at Home, Mayor Bloomberg Says

February 4, 2010 1:44pm1commentprint

A law introduced by Mayor Bloomberg and Sen. Klein would make it illegal to carry a gun while drunk. (Flickr/largeprime)

By Mariel S. Clark

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

If you're going to drink, leave your gun at home.

That was the message from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and State Senator Jeffrey Klein who introduced a bill Thursday that would make it illegal to carry a firearm while drunk.

“If you are too intoxicated to drive a car, you should not be carrying a gun,” Bloomberg said in a statement.

If passed, the bill would make carrying a gun while intoxicated a class-A misdemeanor punishable by one year in jail and a $10,000 fine. Lawbreakers could also have their gun permits revoked.

The law would use the same .08 blood alcohol level that is used to determine drunk driving.

“Guns and alcohol are a deadly mix,” Klein said in the statement. “The time is now for us to get serious about penalties for those who chose to carry a gun while intoxicated.”

The bill would not apply to people possessing guns within their own home.

Currently 20 states have banned the mix of alcohol and guns.

By Mariel Clark, DNAinfo.com
Follow Mariel on Twitter @mariel_DNAinfo

Comments 1comment

what legal citizen in new york can apply and actually get a gun permit to carry concealed anyway,unless your a movie star,or person of means?mayor bloomberg and his headhunter`s are so against your legal right`s to the second amendment!though possessing a weapon and drinking doesn`t make the average person want to cause harm to other`s or himself normally,there are certainly exceptions.i wouln`t compare it to handling a car,but bloomberg isn`t everyones father,nor should he act like it.he just can`t take your right`s away.all his common sense laws are becoming preety stupid because the laws he enacts are only affecting law abiding citizen`s and not the criminal`s whom break the thousand`s of gun law`s already setup.but rarely enforced!being a concealed carry permit holder in florida,i abide by the laws of my state;but rarely ever is there a problem of this kind that a new and all important law must be enacted to protect the whole of society.florida is a shall issue state and chances are the guy next to you has a gun also;meaning a armed society,is a polite one!isn`t it time to let new yorker`s be trusted to do the right thing!give them back their right`s,and tell bloomberg to do something productive,other than running through the rest of the country telling other`s how it`s done in new york;because it obviously not working there.most state`s with concealed carry law`s have much less crime because of this and this is fact!this is just my two cents worth!being from brooklyn,new york myself,and being able to shoot guns as a kid there;i only imagine the trouble i would`ve got into if i could`nt enjoy the hobbies i liked!
bob | February 4, 2010

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