Robert Milby, Wayne County,, N..Y's new sheriff, has been in law enforcement most of his adult life, earning praise and promotions service. Now Milby is attracting attention for a different approach to the law: ignoring it. Milby is among at least a half-dozen sheriffs in upstate New York who have no intention of aggressively enforcing gun regulations that state lawmakers passed last summer, the New York Times reports. The laws forbid concealed weapons in so-called sensitive areas — a long list of public spaces including, but not limited to, government buildings and religious centers, health facilities and homeless shelters, schools and subways, stadiums and state parks, and, Times Square.
“It’s basically everywhere,” said Milby. "If anyone thinks we’re going to go out and take a proactive stance against this, that’s not going to happen.” Last week, a federal judge blocked large portions of the law, dealing a major blow to lawmakers who had sought to set an example for other states after the Supreme Court in June struck down a century-old New York law that had strictly limited the carrying of weapons in public. Between the court challenge and the hostility of many law enforcement officers, New York’s ambitious effort could be teetering. Even before Judge Glenn Suddaby ruled, a collection of sheriffs from upstate New York were saying they would make no special effort to enforce the law, citing lack of personnel, an overbroad scope and possible infringements on the Second Amendment.