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Safe act three years later


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I Googled a small portion of the text and got the article without the pop up.

 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo claims his anti-gun law, known as the SAFE Act, is "the toughest in the nation," but on its three-year anniversary this Thursday it's looking more like a monumental failure.

The governor claims his law bans sales of military-style assault weapons. Yet today you can walk into any gun store in New York and walk out with essentially the same kind of gun he intended to ban. The industry has reacted to the law by simply redesigning the guns to avoid the features the law prohibits and which Cuomo apparently believed made them more lethal.

Worse, for those who prefer their firearms in their original design, a thriving black market has emerged with guns brought into New York from other states by aspiring small (and illegally operating) businessmen.

Like other unpopular laws such as Prohibition and the 55 mph speed limit, the SAFE Act is not obeyed by a vast majority of citizens who should be complying with it. Cuomo has succeeded in creating an underground market where there was none before.

Between the redesigned firearms sold legally in local gun stores and old-style guns sold illegally out of car trunks, there are probably many more assault weapons in New York state today than when the SAFE Act was passed three years ago. Cuomo's signature gun law has had no discernible impact on the numbers or availability of guns in New York.

The SAFE Act also required that the estimated 1 million assault weapons in private ownership in 2013 be registered with theState Police. After the Cuomo administration stonewalled a Freedom of Information request for more than a year, an Albany judge ordered the State Police to release data on the number of weapons registered as required. They revealed that only 44,000 firearms had been registered.

Subtract from that number the firearms owned by police officers and licensed dealers (who have little way to avoid registration), and it's clear the compliance rate for registration among average citizens is less than 4 percent. It's hard to call a law that commands a 96 percent noncompliance rate a success.

More Information

 

Assemblyman Bill Nojay, R-Pittsford, represents the 133th Assembly District.

 

Another requirement, that any buyer of ammunition undergo a background check, has failed to be implemented, apparently because the State Police can't create the database and registration system for any reasonable cost.

The law includes a "snitch" rule, requiring mental health professionals to report clients who they think might be a danger. Although this sounds good to some, it violates the civil rights of innocent citizens and has proven impossible to implement without gross violations of personal privacy and due process. Even the Obama administration has said they will not violate veterans' privacy and have prohibited the Veterans Administration from complying. Many mental health professionals similarly refuse to cooperate.

Finally, the Cuomo gun law prohibited putting more than seven bullets in your gun, even if its magazine had a higher capacity. Apparently Cuomo thought a criminal would count his bullets to stay under the limit before committing murder or mayhem. This rule was laughed out of even New York's liberal federal courts, which declared it unconstitutional if not just plain dumb.

So, what is left of Cuomo's SAFE Act? It has many minor provisions, some of which are working, but from the perspective of criminals, not much has changed. They can still buy all the guns they want to commit crimes. To lawful citizens who want to own a gun, there is a giant government record-keeping bureaucracy, additional cost and waiting times, but little real impact on what firearms they can buy if they want them. The SAFE Act therefore burdens people who do not commit crimes, while having no impact on the real source of gun crime in New York: street violence in poor urban neighborhoods.

Due to its time-wasting bureaucracy, three-quarters of the state's county sheriffs (including those elected in virtually all of the rural counties) have made clear they are not aggressively enforcing the SAFE Act, except as an "add-on" charge for other crimes, and 52 of the state's 62 county legislatures have approved resolutions opposing the SAFE Act.

So where should we go on controlling gun violence? How about if pandering politicians like Andrew Cuomo stop using the Second Amendment and law-abiding citizens as political footballs? No one wants the mentally ill or criminals to have guns, so let's sit down and have a serious discussion — not through sound bites and bad legislation. Otherwise, we'll prolong the debate over guns and crime with more false starts and wasted taxpayer dollars.

 

 

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I would guess that most of the 44,000 "assault" rifles registered are either collectibles or competition guns.

44,000 of the 1st that can be taken. We should never forget nor give up the fight to repeal safe act. Far to many NY'ers have excepted it as its here to stay. Where are all the NYS Politian's that promised Repeal Now. I know the Ammo part was not funded but they need to keep up the attacks on safe act. It was past with out due process, Its was not need it only affected honest NYS gun owners. Its an infringement of our 2nd Amendment rights. We are 2nd class citizens living in the USA. Its sad to see many have excepted Safe Act and the rally and our voices have went unheard. Once again the NYC liberal agenda has ruled New York state over common sense. Vote People if you own a gun or believe in freedom Vote.

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No part of the UNSAFE act has been defunded. Every year, they pass it. The lack of planning and passing the law overnight is why the ammo checks as well as the handgun permit recertification have not gotten off the ground 3 years later. Message of necessity yeah right. From a friend of mine who is an assemblyman, this year will be the push for repeal, as they have the leverage now with the lack of implementation. That is why you are seeing articles like this as well as 3 years later news stories. The ducks are coming into order.

Edited by bubba
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I think there is a better chance of these "assault weapon" bans, which exist in many states, going to the SCOTUS and being shot down.  There are many reasons why these laws are unconstitutional, but have to make it to the court to be invalidated.  Time is against it however.

 

It took about 30 years for the handgun ban in Washington, DC to be found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.  Why is a violation of a Constitutional right so slow when it comes to due process?  That's the effect of political corruption.

 

The anti-gun Leftists are way ahead of these bans getting to the Supreme Court too.  They want to replace 1 Conservative Justice with another Leftist as soon as possible.  Since most Conservative siding winning opinions only pass with a 5-4 vote, adding another flaming Leftist like Sotomayer or Kagen will kill the Constitution as we know it, forever!

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Putting our faith in New York politicians is to repeal this is pointless. They failed us previously the will continue to fail us. The safe act is nothing but one small piece of the dysfunctional NY state government.

. OK what is your plan?
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. OK what is your plan?

Short term statewide the only viable option is prosecution or force. Banging my head against the wall that is our corrupted state government is an excise in stupidly.

Mid term on a more personal level I have already started my exit strategy from this shit hole state. My wife and myself will be more then happy to take our incomes, our business and our taxes to a free state. The later strategy is all to common right now and when you analyze the incomes, education and demographics of people leaving NY verse those gaining new residence here it is easy to see why NY is circling the drain.

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Yeah cut and run. Don't blame you. Lots do when it is time to stand up. If you think the courts will help, so far we got 10 bullets back. Two words for the courts helping. Obama care

The false bravado is nauseating.

The signs, protests, and bull shit lip service you got from the politicians on " your side " got you what? Nothing you were sold out, lock stock and barrel.

So whats your answer? Go crawling back to same people that been selling you out all this time and hope for a more favorable result?

Isn't doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result the definition of insanity? Or is it stupidly?

Edited by Trial153
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The neuroticism shown on single issues is just laughable.

Does the Safe Act suck? Absolutely. Does it suck more then my 5k in school taxes? What about the other 4K in county taxes? Or how about my state income tax bill?

If we woke up tomorrow and found it abolished does that erase all the other issues that is making NY unlivable and the least free state in the country? But wait I don't have to worry about registering my M4 !! Now everything is just great and we can forgive the politicians that screwed us over and ruined our states government and economy.

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Most in NY who hunt and own firearms feel it is a privilege, not a right.  That's why they grovel at the feet of those who oppress their firearms rights.

 

Unless a law SEVERELY infringes on their preferred firearms, they do not care about the people who it does affect.  They actually show contempt for their fellow hunters and firearms owners if they do not follow their sanctimonious ideal of what a NY gun owner should believe and conform to.

 

They seem to think they are protecting their gun rights by removing them from the great unwashed.  It's an elitist attitude that will turn out to be the biggest mistake these folks have ever made.

 

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