Somebody should point out to New Yorkers that states with shall-issue concealed carry and no burdensome registration have lower violent crime rates than the Empire State. Unfortunatly, New Yorkers (particularly those from NYC and Lawn Guyland) tend to act emotionally when it comes to the gun issue. Remember that few New Yorkers have even touched a firearm in their lives.
To be honest, I've never touched one in my life either (and I lived in two other states before moving here). But I did grow up in a gun-owning family (in which none of us kids were ever tempted to take the guns out and fire them at each other), so I know they don't suddenly become animate and start causing mayhem all on their own. And they do come in handy from time to time.
My grandfather had guns all over his house, in closets and drawers. His neighborhood took a big turn for the worse when he was in his eighties, and once at about two in the morning a group of youths rang his doorbell and shouted through the door that their car had broken down and they wanted to use his phone (even though there was a phone booth on the corner which was clearly visible from the front door of my grandfather's house). He opened the door with gun in hand, they saw it through the screen door, and scattered. Yes, and drove off in the car that supposedly didn't work.
I imagine they were planning on a home invasion. They picked the wrong old man to bother.
Not me! In fact, I think that the more people here who are carrying concealed guns (or easily able to do so), the less violent crime will be here. If a thug has reason to believe that his next potential target may very well be carrying a gun, he may think twice about attacking.