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The department is refusing to disclose information about handgun licenses held by the Commander-in-Chief and two of his sons, citing privacy and safety concerns, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
The lawsuit was filed by news company The Daily Dot in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon regarding the NYPD’s alleged refusal to release documents regarding the Trumps’ gun license applications.
According to the lawsuit, NYPD officials refused to release the documents, claiming that “in addition to constituting an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, disclosure of the requested handgun license applications “would endanger the life or safety of the applicant.”
NYPD Lt. Richard Mantellino told the New York Daily News that the request was “an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy under the New York Public Officers law” and “would endanger the life or safety of the applicants,” according to court papers.
In a lengthy post released on Friday, editors with the Daily Dot explained the logic behind their lawsuit.
“The president has a penchant for hyperbole, but he does own a firearm. Trump is licensed to own and carry a handgun in New York City, and yesterday, the Daily Dot filed a lawsuit against the NYPD under the state’s Freedom of Information Law to disclose President Trump’s application for a concealed carry permit.
“New York City has some of the nation’s most stringent concealed carry laws, but the Trumps were granted permits to keep guns in their residences and places of businesses. The president and his sons were disclosed as concealed carry permit holders in 2013, when media outlets published a list of gun owners in New York City.”
Trump has previously boasted of owning a .45-caliber Heckler & Koch sidearm and a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver and carries a gun with him at all times.
“To obtain that license, Trump had to complete a comprehensive application, answering why he had a right to own a weapon, how he would safely store it, and how he was trained to properly handle it, among dozens of other questions,” the Daily Dot stated. “As the gun debate rages in America, the president has spoken openly about his concealed carry weapon and whether firearm ownership should be restricted. We wanted to see why Trump believes he needs a concealed carry permit.
“So we sent a FOIL request (New York state’s version of the federal government’s FOIA) to the NYPD for his application, believing it to be a matter of public interest. It was denied on the grounds that releasing the information could endanger his life.”
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