Category: New York City Legislation

Gun design could derail charges

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There is an interesting article in the Times, “Design of AR-15 Could Derail Charges Tied to Popular Rifle“, which could impact Gov. Cuomo’s “ghost guns” crap:

“A subtle design feature of the AR-15 rifle has raised a technical legal question that is derailing cases against people who are charged with illegally buying and selling the gun’s parts or building the weapon. At issue is whether a key piece of one of America’s most popular firearms meets the definition of a gun that prosecutors have long relied on. For decades, the federal government has treated a mechanism called the lower receiver as the essential piece of the semiautomatic rifle … But some defense attorneys have recently argued that the part alone does not meet the definition in the law. Federal law enforcement officials … are increasingly worried that it could hinder some criminal prosecutions and undermine firearms regulations nationwide … Cases involving lower receivers represent a small fraction of the thousands of federal gun charges filed each year. But the loophole has allowed some people accused of illegally selling or possessing the parts, including convicted felons, to escape prosecution. The issue also complicates efforts to address so-called ghost guns, which are largely untraceable because they are assembled from parts …”

I can see how the NYC prohibition law passed last fall could be subject to legal challenge based upon this article.  Not just black rifles, but Glock clones as well.

Nevertheless I’m not so naive as to think the Governor really cares about things like this.  He just wants to get his name and face before the camera signing some more gun control legislation.  If it gets knocked out by the courts sometime down the road, so what?

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Gun bills enacted without de Blasio’s signature

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INT 1548-2019, Amends the administrative code of the City of New York, in relation to reporting on the seizure of three-dimensional printed guns and ghost guns, or any piece or part thereof, and INT 1553-2019, Amends the administrative code of the City of New York, in relation to prohibiting unfinished frames or receivers, became law last week by default when Mayor de Blasio neither signed nor vetoed them.

I doubt he really cares much about gun control or any other issue he cannot exploit for personal political gain.

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Walter advocates gun control for Westchester

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The Yonkers Times reports:

“Ruth Walter, the Democrat running for Westchester County Legislature in the 15th District, has unveiled her plan to address gun violence in Westchester … Walter has proposed two specific plans to help keep Westchester residents safe from the threat of gun violence. Similar to laws adopted in New York City and Suffolk County, Walter said that, as a county legislator, she will advocate for the creation of a gun offender registry in Westchester County … Walter said she also supports New York State’s Red Flag Law, which provides a critical resource to remove guns from people who are a threat to themselves and others. As a legislator, Walter said she will work to implement a “Red Flag mandatory notification” policy so that anyone who is a victim of domestic violence or reports domestic violence is given information about the law and how to petition the courts to remove guns …”

Walter is a zealot.  This is why local elections are important.

“… Usually, the issue of gun safety and violence does not come up in county legislative races. However, in this race, Walter has been able to contrast her views with that of her opponent, Republican County Legislator Gordon Burrows. Burrows accepted the endorsement of the Westchester County Firearms Owners Association in his elections in 2013 and 2015. According to Walter, the WCFOA is a local, NRA-like pro-gun organization that opposes common-sense gun laws, including opposing banning gun shows at the county-owned Convention Center even though such shows included neo-Nazi and confederate paraphernalia. Burrows voted against banning gun shows at the Westchester County Center in 2017 and 2018 …”

Scott, Mario and the guys at WCFOA do a great job with limited resources.

“… The race between Walter and Burrows is a rematch of their 2017 contest, in which Burrows won, becoming one of the few republicans to win in Westchester during a “blue wave” of democratic progressive turnout. The question in this race, and in the several other notable county board races coming Nov. 5, is: Can Walter and democrats encourage and excite their majority base of county democrats to come out during an election year in which there is no race for county executive, governor or president …”

Antigunners have never been able to turn out a voting block around their issues and the most immediate and noticeable effect of this blue wave was tax increases. Hopefully this will help Burrows.

2A advocates in Yonkers and Bronxville should support Burrows for re-election.

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S-6716 Assembly companion introduced

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A companion to S-6716 has been introduced to Assembly Rules as A-8650.

The bill relates to possession of unfinished frames by persons other than a gunsmith. The meat of the bill is this:

“UNFINISHED FRAME OR RECEIVER” MEANS A FRAME OR RECEIVER OF A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN WHOSE FIRE-CONTROL CAVITY IS COMPLETELY SOLID AND UN-MACHINED, AND WHICH MAY READILY BE MADE INTO A FUNCTIONAL FRAME OR RECEIVER THROUGH MILLING, DRILLING OR OTHER MEANS AND INCLUDES ANY OTHER OBJECT, PART OR COMBINATION OF PARTS WHICH IS NOT A FUNCTIONAL FRAME OR RECEIVER BUT IS DESIGNED OR INTENDED TO BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE AND CAN BE READILY MADE INTO A FUNCTIONAL FRAME OR RECEIVER.

The language is similar to INT 1553-2019 which the Clown Council passed a couple weeks back.

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Newsbits

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Friday’s Newsbits:

Jurisprudence:

Legislation:

Politics:

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INT 1553-2019 passes

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The Clown Council passed Helen Rosenthal’s bill INT 1553-2019 which prohibits “possession of unfinished frames or receivers, which are used to create so-called “ghost guns,” unlicensed untraceable firearms.” Violation is a Class A Misdemeanor.

What does this mean?

From the bill text:

“Frame or receiver.” Part of a firearm, rifle, shotgun or assault weapon that provides housing for the hammer, bolt or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and that is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel. “Unfinished frame or receiver.” A piece of any material that does not constitute the frame or receiver of a firearm, rifle, shotgun or assault weapon but that has been shaped or formed in any way for the purpose of becoming the frame or receiver of a firearm, rifle, shotgun or assault weapon with modification by the user and that is not engraved with a serial number that meets or exceeds requirements pursuant to subsection (i) of section 923 of title 18 of the United States code and regulations issued pursuant thereto.

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RES 1044 introduced today

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Councilman Fernando Cabrera introduced RES 1044 to the Clown Council’s Public Safety Committee today:

Whereas, According to the most recent published statistics by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on National Vital Statistics, in 2016 there were 38,658 firearm related deaths in the U.S.; and

Whereas, The AR-15 firearm is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle, which is generally used for hunting but has been used in mass shootings including Sandy Hook Elementary School and the 2017 harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas; and

Whereas, In an effort to stem the potential of future mass shootings, on January 15, 2013, New York State passed the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (“SAFE”) Act, making New York the first state to implement comprehensive and holistic reforms to address the gun violence plague since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School; and

Whereas, The SAFE Act, among other things, amends the definition of assault weapon to capture more dangerous weapons, such as the AR-15, by defining them as (i) a semiautomatic rifle or pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one military-style characteristic such as a folding stock or protruding pistol grip; and

Whereas, In an effort to skirt New York State law, gun manufacturers have been producing “modified” AR-15 firearms that technically declassify them as an assault weapon, thus allowing for their sale in the state; and

Whereas, AR-15s are modified by removing their protruding pistol grip and their adjustable stock, which then makes the firearm compliant with New York State law; and

Whereas, For all intent and purposes, the modified firearm still functions as an assault weapon; and

Whereas, On June 30, 2017, Dr. Henry Bello, a former and disgruntled employee of Bronx Lebanon Hospital, walked into the facility with a modified AR-15 assault rifle, which he purchased at an upstate gun shop, and shot seven individuals, killing Dr. Tracy Sin-Yee Tam and wounding six others before turning the gun on himself; and

Whereas, This tragedy may have been averted if the assailant was not permitted to purchase this modified assault weapon; and

Whereas, New York State should close the statutory loophole permitting such modification and outlaw these firearms, as the SAFE Act was first intended to do; and

Whereas, New York State will be a safer place when any modification to an AR-15 is made illegal; now, therefore be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to introduce and pass and for the Governor to sign legislation making it illegal to remodify an AR-15 firearm.

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Speaking of “ghost guns”

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Two weeks ago the Clown Council discussed legislation pertaining to “ghost guns.”

Today there’s this:

“Transportation Security Administration stopped a man with 3D-printed handgun part in his carry-on baggage at LaGuardia Airport, CBS New York reported. The traveler from Kansas was stopped at a security checkpoint with the weapon July 3. The item included the trigger and body of the gun …”

Not sure why someone would carry the parts in carry-on bags, unless that is all they had.

I don’t think it’s paranoid to say local media is looking for stories to support this legislation.

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Committee hearings on “ghost guns”

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The following gun bills were discussed at yesterday’s meeting of the Public Safety Committee:

  • INT 1553-2019, Prohibits the possession of unfinished frames or receivers.
  • INT 1548-2019, Requires the NYPD to report quarterly on the number of 3D-printed guns and so-called “ghost guns,” defined as firearms assembled using an unfinished lower receiver, that are seized by the department.
  • RES 866-2019, Resolution calling on Congress to pass, and the President to sign, H.R. 7115 the 3-D Firearms Prohibition Act.
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Newsbits

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Wednesday’s Newsbits:

Jurisprudence:

Legislation:

Politics:

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