Syracuse.com - SAFE Act informational forum at Oncenter draws crowd of more than 150

[HuntingNY-News]

The private sale of a firearm between two individuals can no longer take place, Mastrogiovanni said. The sale must be transacted through a federally licensed firearms dealer who must do a background check.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The impact of New York's SAFE Act on outdoors sportsmen and firearms owners in general was the subject of an informational forum held at the Oncenter today.

The forum, which drew more than 150 people, was hosted by the Onondaga County Federation of Sportsmen's Club. Chief John Balloni of the Onondaga Sheriff's Department, who is seeking the GOP endorsement in the county sheriff's race, kicked off the discussion, noting the act "amends dozens of laws ... and some of it will be litigated in court."

Balloni, whose displeasure with the Safe Act is no secret, called it a law of "unintended consequences." He noted law enforcement officials were not asked for input in its creation.

Balloni was joined by Mike Mastrogiovanni, vice president of S.C.O.P.E (Shooters Committee on Political Education) and Assemblyman Gary Finch, R-Springport. A representative from State Police was invited to attend, but was "unable to be here," Balloni said.

Finch talked about how the SAFE Act legislation came into being and that there's currently four proposed laws to change it. He noted, though, that the likelihood of repealing the SAFE Act legislatively "is remote" and that the best bet is through the courts.

Mastrogiovanni discussed pending legal action to repeal the act.

.

"This law was the dream of the anti-gun crowd and pushed through under the guise of necessity," he said. "Don't be afraid to write letters and make sure that every politician hears from you."

The following are SAFE Act regulations the panelists discussed prior to, and during the forum. Key sources of information for their statements, they said, was the state's SAFE Act website and State Police guidelines that have been distributed to law enforcement officials across the state.

1). The private sale of a firearm between two individuals can no longer take place, Mastrogiovanni said. The sale must be transacted through a federally licensed firearms dealer who must do a background check. The law does allow for individuals to give their firearm(s) to immediate family members (spouse, domestic partner, children, stepchildren), but in-laws are not included.

2). Certain firearms under the act that are classified under the law as "assault weapons" are put under that classification because of certain characteristics. However, if the firearm owner significantly changes or modifies a distinguishing feature that makes the gun an assault weapon (such as replacing a pistol grip on a rifle with a standard stock) the firearm is no longer illegal to possess, nor does it have to be registered.

3). The suspension of pistol permits. Currently, when an individual has an order of protection against them issued by a judge (such as in a domestic violence or marital dispute), he or she will have their pistol permit suspended and be required to turn over that firearm to police until the order is lifted. Under the SAFE Act, individuals will also have to turn over all their long guns (shotguns, rifles, muzzleloaders) to police (the county sheriff), who will hold them until the order is lifted.

4). The internet purchase of ammunition. The SAFE Act will ban the purchase of ammunition over the internet by state residents. However, the law does allow firearm owners to buy materials (gunpowder, shell casings, primers) so they can continue reloading their own ammunition.

5). The loaning of firearms/ammunition. The SAFE Act bans the loaning of handguns to another individual, along with ammunition for handguns. Balloni said long guns -- shotguns, rifles and muzzleloaders -- are not included in this SAFE Act restriction, unless the long gun is classified as an assault weapon. Most guns used in hunting will be unaffected, he said.

6).Background checks on ammunition purchases. This requirement has been tabled for the time being as State Police are putting together a data base for use by law enforcement officials. Mastrogiovanni said, however, that sources have told him the data base approach will be scrapped and some other approach will be used.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog