{"id":3278,"date":"2011-01-24T09:33:58","date_gmt":"2011-01-24T14:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gunpoliticsny.com\/?p=3278"},"modified":"2011-01-24T09:33:58","modified_gmt":"2011-01-24T14:33:58","slug":"a-1479-has-been-around-for-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gunpoliticsny.com\/?p=3278","title":{"rendered":"A-1479 has been around for years"},"content":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance<\/a> sent out an alert<\/a> regarding A-1479<\/a> which was picked up by outdoor writers including Ken Moran at the Post<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“… A bill in New York would redefine \u201cassault weapon\u201d to include many firearms that are commonly used for hunting. Assembly Bill 1479, introduced by Asm. Linda Rosenthal (D-New York)<\/a>, changes the state\u2019s definition of \u201cassault weapon.\u201d The new definition would classify firearms commonly used for hunting, like semi-automatic shotguns that have a thumbhole stock or a pistol grip, as assault weapons … Even more dangerous to sportsmen and gun owners, the bill gives the Superintendent of State Police<\/a> the authority to regulate and classify additional firearms as \u201cassault weapons\u201d by simply finding that a firearm feature or modification is \u201cparticularly suitable for military and not sporting purposes.\u201d …”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A-1479 basically expands the definition of so-called “assault weapons” to just about any semi-auto rifle\/pistol which can accept detachable magazines plus many shotguns. \u00a0It was originally introduced by John Lavelle<\/a> back around 2004. \u00a0Linda Rosenthal is just the latest sponsor. \u00a0Lavelle dropped dead a few years ago and it was picked up by his replacement Matthew Titone<\/a> who simply reintroduced whatever bills Lavelle had been carrying. \u00a0Titone was made a fool of on the Assembly<\/a> floor when the bill came up for discussion because he clearly didn’t read it and didn’t seem to know enough about firearms to understand what it really did.\u00a0 Rosenthal on the other hand doesn’t care.\u00a0 It is part of the antigun bill package the Assembly takes up every year except for last year when they just tried pushing microstamping.<\/p>\n

It’s nice USSA did an e-mail blast, but since they don’t actually do<\/span> anything in New York, their alert could have been better written. \u00a0It gives the impression the bill is new, which it isn’t, and does not even mention semi-autos which are the main target of this legislation.<\/p>\n