Fernando Mateo has mostly garnered attention for two causes: ensuring the safety of livery drivers and getting illegal guns off the streets. So it seemed a little strange to see Mr. Mateo on Thursday urging bodega owners to apply for handgun licenses to protect themselves. "The issue is with the thugs who have illegal guns," Mr. Mateo said after a news conference in Upper Manhattan. "If every illegal gun were taken off the street, we wouldn't have to arm the businesses." The news conference, which was also led by Ramon Murphy, the president of the Bodega Association of the United States, came days after a gunman killed a Queens bodega clerk in a botched robbery.
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