The New York Post writes an article on the last taxidermist operating in New York City:
He practices his old-fashioned craft in a dusty Brooklyn storefront called the Cypress Hills Taxidermy Studio, where the stuffed deer, boars and pheasants on the walls are reminiscent of an era when hunting was still popular enough that even the Big Apple had several taxidermy shops.
“It kind of makes me feel special that I’m the only one left, like I’m the last dinosaur,” said Youngaitis, 57.
The article goes on to speak of his need to moonlight as a plumber to make ends meet. This is not shocking, because New York City makes it difficult to impossible to own a firearm. I was once at a gun show in PA, and ended up in the line for paperwork behind a guy from New York City, who was just trying to buy a 10/22. Took him a while to find a dealer willing to process that transaction, and seemed to involve some extra phone calls on the part of the dealer, I’m guessing to verify the permit to purchase. By the time this guy was at the dealer buying the gun, most of the grueling work had already been done. All he would have left to do is register the firearm with the NYPD when he returned (if you buy from a New York City dealer, they will do this for you).
But their target isn’t hunting, which has traditionally been the only sport our opponents concede is a legitimate reason to own a gun. Yet a city of 8 million people can’t even support a full time taxidermist, due to the laws they support.
Well, not much longer. One of the greatly satisfying things to watch with Second Amendment litigation is the strong possibility we will lay waste to New York City’s gun laws, and send them into the dustbin of history where they belong. I’m not sure that’s going to help Mr. Youngaitis’s business quickly enough to matter, but I leave you with the words of Justice Scalia:
I grew up at a time when people were not afraid of people with firearms. I used to travel on the subway from Queens to Manhattan with a rifle. Could you imagine doing that today in New York City?
No, I can’t. But that’s going to change.
That’s really a shame. I hear they have coyotes in Central Park now, so you’d think hunting opportunities would abound.
Not coincidentally, the most recent stats on fatal stabbings in NYC I’ve seen show that fatal stabbings DOUBLED there in 2008: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/nyregion/28knives.html?_r=2&ref=nyregion
Even the slant the NYC gives the article makes a couple of things clear: (1) most of the knife vicitms would be alive if they’d had a gun, and (2) the rise in stabbings directly paralleled the drop in shootings; that is, guns don’t kill people, people kill people. And people will find a way.
You could not pay me enough to live in that city.
Provided you had the right uniform, it would be quite easy to travel on the NY subway with a rifle.
I read somewhere that there are more licensed hunters in New York City than registered firearms. That means there is a lot of bow hunters in New York City.
Growing up, my father and his best friend (my uncle). would take their rifles (he had a lever action Marlin in .44 mag – mom made him sell it when I was born) on the subway, take the subway up to bear mountain, walk into the woods and go hunt for deer. They’d gut the deer, drag it out of the woods, onto the train, and then take the 2 hour train ride back back down into the city and bring it to the local butcher on the corner to process.
Harp
There are a lot of folks in New York City who have 2nd (and 3rd and 4th and 5th) homes elsewhere.
Similar thing here in Los Angeles CA…I am going to apply for a hunting license and have to take a hands-on course and pass.
I can go about 20 miles east or down to Orange County. I live 10 east of Pasadena (the Rose Bowl place), and there is no hands-on class conducted west of me, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Maybe 6M people in that area…