the-long-march-to-restore-the-second-amendment-in-new-york

"Big Tim" Sullivan (he of the tertiary syphilis) got the "Sullivan Law" passed based on an increasing crime rate and the emotions of the public over a murder/suicide. The two-fold purpose of Sullivan and the Tammany Hall political machine was to control the newly arrived Italian gangsters, and keep a check on the hoodlums that were in their service. If an Italian criminal or one of the thugs working for Sullivan got too troublesome, a police officer appointed by Tammany Hall might slip a gun into his pocket, frisk the "suspect", and that crook would "get the lesson" with a year in prison.

Good luck with that!