Support, anger follow N.Y. sheriff's call to arms
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — A New York sheriff urging licensed gun owners to carry their firearms in public has sparked intense outrage and support on social media — a response that has come as a shock to the sheriff.
Ulster County Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum's post on the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department’s Facebook page received a heavy mix of support and criticism from gun owners and non-gun owners alike Thursday. Van Blarcum said he was "absolutely surprised" by the amount of social media reaction during an interview Friday morning with Radio Woodstock (WDST-FM).
"I didn’t send it out as a press release. We posted it and I sent it out as a letter to the editor," Van Blarcum said during the interview with Jimmy Buff, morning DJ and program director at Radio Woodstock. "I wasn’t looking to make a press event out of it. But it turned into a lot of good conversations."
Van Blarcum's post was in response to hundreds of shootings reported across the U.S. this year, including the most recent where 14 people were gunned down in San Bernardino, Calif., on Wednesday when gunmen — a man and a woman — burst into a social services center and opened fire.
In light of mass killings nationally and globally, Van Blarcum wrote in the post that licensed gun owners should take it upon themselves to “responsibly take advantage of your legal right to carry a firearm." A statement from the sheriff’s office confirmed that there is no immediate threat to Ulster County or the surrounding area.
"I didn’t take it as a Second Amendment issue. I was reaching out to people who are already legally licensed to carry handguns, so it definitely wasn’t a Second Amendment issue. Just encouraging them to help; you know, we’re partners with the public in crime prevention. So these people are legally registered to carry, and I’m encouraging them if they’re comfortable to do that, to carry," Van Blarcum said during the interview.
In the post, Van Blarcum also reminded police and peace officers, both active duty and retired, to carry a weapon when leaving the house.
"We are the thin blue line that is entrusted in keeping this country safe, and we must be prepared to act at any given moment,” Van Blarcum said via the Facebook post.
Permits issued by the county sheriffs' offices are required for pistols in New York.
The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office estimates that there are about 10,000 people with gun permits living within the county that has a population of 180,445. Dutchess County Sheriff's Office representatives were unable to provide recent gun permit numbers Thursday, however, earlier this year, the Sheriff's Office said there were roughly 40,000 active pistol permits in Dutchess County, which is home to 296,579 people, according to the 2014 Census figures.
"People get gun permits for various different reasons. I think the people that are out there that do carry concealed right now are probably as proficient with their weapons as police officers are," Van Blarcum said Friday.
Ulster County Executive Mike Hein did not respond to repeated requests for comment on whether or not he supports the sheriff’s statement. Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro could not be reached for comment.
Late Thursday, Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright posted his own insight on the sheriff's statements.
Carnright, stating he has "complete confidence in Paul," questioned whether Van Blarcum's suggestion would equate to increased safety.
"Though I fully support our right to bear arms and to defend ourselves I am not convinced more guns in the hands of untrained or unskilled civilians is the answer and nor do I believe does the sheriff. I discourage anyone from misreading the sheriff’s comments," Carnright wrote.
Van Blarcum's post generated intense reaction across social media.
“I don’t think it’s frightening or creating panic," Melissa Manna-Williams of Fishkill, N.Y., said in a post on the Poughkeepsie Journal's Facebook page. "The sheriff is simply encouraging those who have a valid permit to carry their pistol — it’s what they are legally entitled to do.”
Nancy Smith commended the sheriff for taking a public stance, saying that the discussion in the wake of mass shootings is “needed,” but she stopped short of supporting the sheriff's message.
“This is a tough one,” she said in a post on the Journal’s Facebook page. “I totally believe in being able to defend one’s home and property, but out and about, (I am) not so sure. There are other options besides guns. Why don’t those get talked about more often? Just saying. (I'm) not for this, not opposed. When one of these legal folks kills somebody, though, I hope the sheriff is prepared to come to that person’s defense.”
Others flat out opposed the sheriff’s message. A petition calling for Van Blarcum's resignation started Thursday afternoon on Change.org was signed by nearly 700 people as of Friday morning.
Van Blarcum, 58, was elected to his third term as sheriff in November. He won the uncontested race while running on the Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Independent lines with more than 44,000 votes. The sheriff serves a four-year term at $101,000 per year.
Van Blarcum said in November that his uncontested race speaks to Ulster County’s support of the job he is doing as sheriff. “Political parties should be kept of out of the sheriff’s office,” he said. “We serve everyone.”
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