Reply #14: Some believe that those who live in large urban areas ...

[spin]

should not be able to own or carry firearms. Such people appear to believe that the rights you enjoy as an American citizen should depend on where you live.

Susan Wallace , AlterNet at 10:39 AM on October 6, 2009.

Guns Kill People ... Who Own Guns

The debate over guns strikes me as odd. I can't quite grasp why it's viewed as a left-right issue -- a matter of ideology -- as opposed to a rural-urban divide. I've owned guns myself when I lived in the boondocks, but in a city, packed in like sardines with lunatics of all stripes, I'd prefer there be as few guns as possible within range of my windows.

Obviously, it's not easy to have a liberal gun policy in rural areas and stricter controls in cities, but in my mind, that tension should at least form the parameters of debate (and if you look carefully at who's on which side, it often does; think about Rudy Giuliani's outspoken support for gun control, or the fact that even the most progressive Dems from rural districts oppose it).
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/rights/143113/guns_kill_people_..._who_own_guns/

And indeed Rudy Giuliani does seem to agree with this idea.

Political positions of Rudy Giuliani

***snip***

Gun control/gun rights

***snip***

In a February 2007 Sean Hannity interview, he said that " is part of the Constitution. People have a right to bear arms," and that while tough gun-control laws were needed in New York City, "in another place, more rural, more suburban ... you have a different set of rules."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Rudy_Giuliani#Gun_control.2Fgun_rights

However I have always found it interesting that even in New York City back when Rudy Giuliani was mayor and even today now that the Mayor is Michael Bloomberg, the rich, the famous and the well connected have always been able to own and even carry firearms.

The Faces of Gun Ownership In The City


The NYTimes reports today that there are more than 37,000 people licensed to have a handgun in the city. It's a small but substantial group which includes many prominent businessmen, city council members, celebrities, journalists, judges and lawyers. Among the most prominent names: Queens DA Richard Brown, actor Robert De Niro, radio host Don Imus, Donald Trump, actor Harvey Keitel, radio host Howard Stern, city council members Inez Dickens and Peter Koo, and Federal Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. As Johnson Jr noted soberly, "I was a special prosecutor. Sixteen years in narcotics. I didn't make a lot of people happy."

There are eight kinds of handgun licenses in New York, and the most common restricts owners from taking their guns out of their homes—but others allow license holders, including security guards, gun custodians and people who demonstrate a need for protection, to carry weapons with them. There are 41,164 handguns registered with the Police Department as of Jan. 14, which includes those owned by more than 2,400 people who live outside the city but have permission to bring their weapons into the city. Nearly 4,000 license holders, including those who have a “carry business,” “limited carry” or “special carry” license, can legally conceal their weapons. Among that group are Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, Fox News personality Sean Hannity, Stern, Imus, and Trump.

By Ben Yakas in News on February 20, 2011 6:19 PM
http://gothamist.com/2011/02/20/the_faces_of_gun_ownership_in_the_c.php