Congressman Maurice Hinchey from upstate New York was a target of the mob during the 1980s when he was a State Assembly member investigating its "illegal dumping of toxic waste at landfills," and the politician resorted to his Second Amendment remedy to protect himself as reported by Brian Tumulty for the Ithaca Journal:
Hinchey began carrying a pistol because he was advised by law enforcement authorities they couldn't guarantee round-the-clock protection from a possible hit by organized crime. "My life was being threatened and the operation in Albany told me I should begin carrying my own gun," Hinchey recalled. He still has a handgun permit and owns more than one pistol.
Ironically, the Congressman gets only a C- from the National Rifle Association on gun rights which suggests Hinchey hypocritically believes -- like most politicians -- that one set of rules should exist for the governing class and another set for their constituents.
