One of Mayor Bloomberg's major criticisms of the Tea Party movement is that they don't stand for any issues, unlike him. Bloomberg has made gun control one of the major cornerstones of his administration, which is why many people were confused when he decided to slash the cost of obtaining a gun permit, cutting the price from $340 to between $25 and $110. “We want to be in compliance with the law…so that we don’t want to lose the ability to have reasonable controls. If we have controls that the courts have ruled too onerous or too unfair, we could lose the whole thing,” Bloomberg explained, referring to the Supreme Court throwing out gun laws in Chicago and Washington.

Even so, the cost cutting makes some NYers very gun-shy: “Yeah, that’s too low, too low. Twenty, 30 years ago it was more than that,” said gun owner Charles Hu. “If a New Yorker were to sue the water board tomorrow, I don’t think the city would rush to reduce water rates. So I just think we’re sending the wrong message here,” said City Councilman Erik Dilan. But just because the permits will be cheaper, doesn't mean it'll necessarily be easier to get a gun, thanks to those aforementioned "reasonable controls."

Under proposed revisions to the police department's handgun, rifle and shotgun permit procedures, the NYPD can reject gun license applicants for an absurdly varied amount of reasons: If they have been arrested or convicted of almost any "violation," in any state; having a "poor driving history"; having been fired for "circumstances that demonstrate lack of good judgment"; having "failed to pay legally required debts"; being deemed to lack "good moral character"; or if any other information demonstrates "other good cause for the denial of the permit." The permit price cuts are subterfuge to sneak the true loophole in the holster: if they don't want you to have a gun, then you will not get one legally in NYC anymore. Someone will not be getting a Christmas Card from the NRA this year.