Mayor Eric Adams shuts down flashy NYC bishop’s plea for clergy gun permits
Mayor Eric Adams rebuffed an eccentric Brooklyn bishop who called on the city to arm clergy members after he was robbed during a live-streamed service.
Adams issued a resounding “no” to his longtime friend Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead’s pleas to issue gun permits to clergy members at an unrelated press conference Monday morning.
Miller-Whitehead, 44, urged legislators last Friday to introduce a law that would allow pastors and other members of clergy to arm themselves in order to protect their congregants.
His pleas came after he was robbed of an estimated $1 million worth of jewelry while in the middle of delivering his sermon at the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Canarsie on July 24. Three masked, gun-toting crooks were caught on video stealing the bling during the live-streamed service.
The flamboyant bishop — known for wearing Gucci, Balenciaga, Fendi, Prada and other high-end designers — said religious leaders like himself should be able to get gun permits regardless of their criminal records.
Miller-Whitehead has an alleged history of grifting and served time in prison for identity theft and grand larceny. He is also the target of a lawsuit accusing him of bilking a parishioner out of her $90,000 life savings in 2020.
Adams has previously defended his relationship with the flamboyant pastor, stating that he has an “obligation to mentor other black men that had negative encounters in their lives.”
However, he shut down the clergyman’s gun request with a one-word “no” when a reporter asked Hizzoner if it was a good idea that clergy members should be able to obtain gun permits regardless of their criminal histories.
