New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who hopes to be the Democratic Presidential Candidate in 2016 and just rammed a draconian piece of gun legislation through the NYS Senate last night, after a series of closed door meetings, and it is expected to be approved by the Assembly today.

Here is the fact sheet distributed by Cuomo about the legislation…

Cuomo gun bill fact sheet by Casey Seiler

 

Key attributes of the bill as passed by the senate are:

• Redefinition of an assault weapon from a two cosmetic feature test to a one feature test that includes any gun that meets the following criteria
  1. Semiautomatic rifle that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following descriptions:
     • a folding or telescoping stock (No M1 Carbine Para, No M4, No SCAR)
     • a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon (No… huh?)
     • a thumbhole stock
     • a forward handgrip (No… Wait you can’t hold it securely?)
     • a bayonet mount (No… stabbing the guy you shot at?)
     • a flash suppressor, muzzle break, muzzle compensator, or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor, muzzle break, or muzzle compensator
     • a grenade launcher (Who has those?)
  2. Semiautomatic shotgun that has at least one of the following characteristics:
     • a folding or telescoping stock
     • a thumbhole stock
     • a forward handgrip
     • a fixed magazine capacity in excess of seven rounds (Bye, Bye 3 Gun)
     • an ability to accept a detachable magazine (No Saiga)
  3. Semiautomatic pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following characteristics:
     • a folding or telescoping stock (They realize that this would make it a rifle, right?)
     • a thumbhole stock (Please see above comment)
     • a forward hand grip
     • a capacity to accept an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip (No AR Pistol, Kriss, or broom handle Mauser)
     • a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer (No more USPSA Open Guns)
     • a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the non-trigger hand without being burned (At the minimum this is a “shoulder thing that goes up,” others may read it as a slide)
     • a manufactured weight of fifty ounces or more when the pistol isunloaded
     • a semiautomatic version of an automatic rifle, shotgun or firearm
  4. Ban all large magazines that have the capacity to hold more than SEVEN rounds of ammunition (Unless you already have 10rders as long as you promise not to put more than 7 rounds of ammunition in them… WHAT?)
  5. Any ammunition sold commercially must be conducted by a seller that can perform a background check
  6. background checks for all gun sales, including private sales
  7. Establishing a statewide gun license and record database (Registration… like Canada just abandoned)
  8. It is now more illegaler to take guns into schools and murder 1st responders
  9. Expansion of mental illness out-patient treatment services (Yay!)

The results of the senate’s vote were…

Ayes (43): Adams, Addabbo, Avella, Boyle, Breslin, Carlucci, Diaz, Dilan, Espaillat, Felder, Flanagan, Fuschillo, Gianaris, Gipson, Golden, Grisanti, Hannon, Hassell-Thomps, Hoylman, Kennedy, Klein, Krueger, Lanza, Latimer, LaValle, Marcellino,Martins, Montgomery, O’Brien, Parker, Peralta, Perkins, Rivera, Sampson, Sanders, Savino, Serrano, Skelos, Smith, Squadron, Stavisky, Stewart-Cousin, Valesky

Nays (18): Ball, Bonacic, DeFrancisco, Farley, Gallivan, Griffo, Larkin, Libous, Little,
Marchione, Maziarz, Nozzolio, O’Mara, Ranzenhofer, Ritchie, Robach, Seward, Young

Excused (1): Zeldin

My desired response to the legislation…

I consider this an infringement of the Second Amendment…

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed

I also think that Remington/Bushmaster should begin pulling out of the state immediately, and every gun manufacturer should take the approach of Ronnie Barrett who famously sent the following letter to the Chief of the LAPD when they attempted to buy one of his M82A1 .50 caliber rifles, and refuse to sell or service any weapon for the state of New York or ones of its law enforcement agencies that is not available for sale to the law abiding public.

Dear Chief Bratton,

I, a U.S. citizen, own Barrett Firearms Mfg. Inc., and for 20 years, I have built .50 caliber rifles for my fellow citizens, for their Law Enforcement departments and for their nation’s armed forces.

You may be aware of the latest negative misinformation campaign from a Washington based anti-gun group, the Violence Policy Center. The VPC has, for three or so years, been unsuccessful in Washington, D.C. trying to demonize and ban a new subclass of firearms, the .50 caliber and other “too powerful” rifles. This type of nibbling process has been historically successful in civilian disarmament of other nations governed by totalitarian and other regimes less tolerant of individual rights than the United States.

The VPC’s most recent efforts directs this misinformation campaign at your state, attempting to get any California body to pass any law against .50 caliber firearms. In March 2002, the VPC caused the California State Assembly, Public Safety Committee to consider and reject the issue by a 5 to 0 with 1 abstaining vote.

Regrettably, the same material has been presented to your city council. I personally attended the council meeting in Los Angeles regarding attempts to ban ownership of the .50 caliber rifle in your city. I was allowed to briefly address the council. The tone of the discussion was mostly emotionally based, so the facts that I attempted to provide were ineffective to the extent they were heard at all. The council voted to have the city attorney draft an ordinance to ban the .50, and further, to instruct the city’s representatives in Sacrament and in Washington, D.C. to push for bans at their respective levels.

At that council meeting, I was very surprised to see an LAPD officer seated front and center with a Barrett 82A1 .50 cal. Rifle. It was the centerpiece of the discussion. As you know, there have been no crimes committed with these rifles, and most importantly, current California law does not allow the sale of the M82A1 in the state because of its detachable magazine and features that make it an “assault weapon.” This rifle was being deceptively used by your department. The officer portrayed it as a sample of a currently available .50 cal rifle, available for sale to the civilians of Los Angeles. One councilman even questioned how this rifle was available under current laws, but as I stated, facts were ineffective that day.

Your officer, speaking for the LAPD, endorsed the banning of this rifle and its ammunition. Then he used the rifle for photo ops with the Councilmen, each of whom, in handling the firearm, may have been committing a felony. I was amazed.

Since 1968, with the closing of the U.S. Springfield Armory, all of the small arms produced for the various government agencies are from the private sector. Every handgun, rifle or shotgun that law enforcement needs comes from this firearms industry. Unless the City of Los Angeles has plans of setting up its own firearms manufacturing, it may need to guard the manufacturing sources it has now.

When I returned to my office from Los Angeles, I found an example of our need for mutual cooperation. Your department had sent one of your 82A1 rifles in to us for service. All of my knowledge in the use of my rifle in the field of law enforcement had been turned upside down by witnessing how your department used yours. Not to protect and serve, but for deception, photo opportunities, and to further an ill-conceived effort that may result in the use of LA taxpayer monies to wage losing political battles in Washington against civil liberties regarding gun ownership.

Please excuse my slow response on the repair service of the rifle. I am battling to what service I am repairing the rifle for. I will not sell, nor service, my rifles to those seeking to infringe upon the Constitution and the crystal clear rights it affords individual to own firearms.

I implore you to investigate the facts of the .50, to consider the liberties of the law-abiding people and our mutual coexistence, and to change your department’s position on this issue.

Sincerely, 
BARRETT FIREARMS MANUFACTURING, INC.

Ronnie G. Barrett
President

What do you think? Should manufacturers refuse to sell or service any weapon for the state of New York or ones of its law enforcement agencies that is not available for sale to the law abiding public? Let me know in the comments!