NY SAFE

Uncategorized

The Effects Of The NY SAFE Act Coming Home To Roost

February 16, 2014 by 1 Comment

The backers of the New York SAFE Act said the law would make New Yorkers safer. About the only thing I can see that it has done is to cost good, hard working New Yorkers their jobs.

This view is shared by Fran Madore, President of United Mine Workers Local 717. The union represents the overwhelming majority of the workers at Remington’s Ilion, New York plant.

A union official said Saturday the Remington Arms Co.’s decision to open a manufacturing plant in Alabama does not bode well for Ilion, and he’s blaming New York’s SAFE Act restrictions on assault weapons.

“It can’t be good,” said Fran Madore, president of United Mine Workers Local 717, which represents 1,180 of the 1,300 Remington employees in Ilion. “How can it be good?”

Madore said plant officials told him they wanted to meet with him Monday. They did not say what they wanted to talk about, but Madore said he assumes it will be about the company’s reported plans to open a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Ala.

In his interview with the Syracuse Post-Standard, Madore goes on to say that the NY SAFE Act crippled them and that he is worried that jobs will lost in Ilion.

I think Mr. Madore has good reason to be worried.

Uncategorized

Remington Looking At Georgia?

December 9, 2013 by 1 Comment

Georgia is home to both Glock and Daniel Defense. It is also being considered by Beretta who was reported to have scouted a central Georgia location earlier this year. Now it appears that Georgia officials are working hard to convince Remington Arms to relocate from Ilion, New York to their state.

State Sen. Burt Jone (R-Jackson) discussed this in a Q&A session with the Butts County Partners for Smart Growth this past week. Butts County is midway between Atlanta and Macon along Interstate 75.

Jones, R-Jackson, said that while Beretta has narrowed its focus to two Georgia locations — not in Butts County — the Remington Arms Company is considering relocating from New York, where its Ilion Firearms Plant and Custom Shop is located. He said state officials are working to try to bring the plant to Georgia and he’s hoping to land it in his district, possibly his home county.

Jones discussed the possibility during a question-and-answer session after his remarks Thursday to the group Partners for Smart Growth.

Remington, he said, “is looking to leave New York due to taxes, due to the unions, due to all the factors that run businesses away from your community, and they have zeroed in on the state of Georgia as being one of the states that they’re considering.”

He said he is working to get Butts County and District 25 on a list of “potential landing spots” for Remington.

“It could mean literally thousands of jobs for a community, wherever it might land,” Jones said.

It may only be wishful thinking on the part of the state of Georgia and Sen. Jones that Remington would leave New York. However, it is a fact that the NY SAFE Act has cost that state jobs. American Tactical and Kahr Arms are relocating out of state and others have decided any expansions will be made in outside of New York.

UPDATE: Tom at Fill Yer Hands reminded me that Heckler & Koch has operations down in Columbus, Georgia.

H/T Tim Glance

Uncategorized

NY SAFE Act Helps Elect A Sheriff

November 8, 2013 by

Just like opposition to ObamaCare allowed Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to almost win the governor’s race, opposition to New York’s anti-gun SAFE Act allowed Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard (R) to win his third term.

Four words that he uttered at a news conference last May helped Timothy B. Howard win a third term as Erie County sheriff.

The words were “I won’t enforce it,” and Howard was talking about the SAFE Act, a controversial new state firearms law that has outraged gun owners.

The support of angry firearms owners helped the Republican sheriff to a big win Tuesday over his Democratic Party opponent, retired Sheriff’s Deputy Richard E. Dobson, and Sheriff’s Lt. Bert D. Dunn, a Law and Order Party candidate who lost the Democratic nomination in the September primary.

Erie County is home to Buffalo which is the second largest city in New York State. It is also home to a lot of hunters, shooters, and gun owners. Carl J. Calabrese, a former Erie County deputy county executive, thinks Howard’s stance helped him win a lot of Democrats who wouldn’t normally vote for a Republican saying, “A lot of Democrats are blue-collar people, union people, hunters and gun owners.”

Gun owners also worked hard to support Howard who supports the suit challenging the SAFE Act.

Howard supports a court challenge to the SAFE Act and has publicly stated that he won’t enforce the law, because in his view, it violates the constitutional rights of gun owners.

Gun owners worked hard to help Howard win, said Harold “Budd” Schroeder of Lancaster, chairman of the board of the Shooters Committee on Political Education. “Don’t you see the signs posted all over Erie County, opposing the SAFE Act? People are very upset about this.”

To be fair, some people did vote against Howard because they supported the SAFE Act but they were a low fewer than those who voted for him due to his opposition to it.

Uncategorized

SAF Sues New York Over Magazine Capacity Limit

September 28, 2013 by

As the Second Amendment Foundation begins its annual Gun Rights Policy Conference today, one new topic of discussion may well be the suit they filed today on behalf of themselves, Shooters Committee for Political Education (SCOPE), Long Island Firearms, and two individual plaintiffs. The suit challenges that part of the New York SAFE Act which limits the number of rounds that are allowed to be in a lawful magazine to seven rounds unless a person is at a shooting range. With the exception of single stack magazines for the 1911 and a few pocket pistols, most magazines for semi-auto pistols hold more than the seven round limit.

Caron et al v. Cuomo et al was filed in US District Court for the Northern District of New York.

The complaint notes that magazines containing ten rounds and more are in common usage for lawful purposes and that firearms containing ten round magazines are “therefore not dangerous and unusual weapons” per the Heller decision. The complaint goes on to note that individual self defense is “‘the central component’ of the Second Amendment right” as noted in the McDonald decision which was quoting Heller. The suit seeks a declaratory judgment that the seven round limitation violates the Second Amendment and preliminary and permanent injunctions against enforcement of that part of the NY SAFE Act that limits the number of rounds to seven.

The lead attorney in the lawsuit is David Jensen who has brought a number of lawsuits on behalf of the Second Amendment Foundation.

The complaint can be found here.

The Second Amendment Foundation released this on the case this evening:

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation filed suit today in federal court seeking to enjoin the State of New York from enforcing provisions of the so-called “SAFE Act” that limit the use of gun magazines containing more than seven cartridges.

SAF is joined in the lawsuit by the Shooters Committee for Political Education (SCOPE) and Long Island Firearms LLC. They are represented by New York attorneys David Jensen and Robert P. Firriolo.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Joseph D’Amico, superintendent of the Division of State Police.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, asserts that the seven-round loading restriction violates the Second Amendment because it “substantially interferes with the right of law abiding citizens to defend themselves and is not sufficiently related to any compelling or otherwise adequate government interest.”

“The cartridge limit is arbitrary and serves no useful purpose other than to frustrate, and perhaps entrap, law abiding citizens who own firearms with standard capacity magazines that were designed to hold more than seven rounds,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Several top law enforcement officials have already publicly stated they will not enforce provisions of this law, yet Gov. Cuomo and Supt. D’Amico are pushing ahead.

“The law is contradictory, in that it is legal in New York to possess magazines that hold up to ten cartridges,” he added. “But the SAFE Act limits people to seven rounds, with some narrow exceptions. This amounts to virtual entrapment for anyone who loads more than seven rounds in a magazine for self-defense purposes.

“Magazines that hold ten or more rounds are in common use all over the country,” Gottlieb concluded. “This arbitrary limit essentially penalizes law abiding citizens for exercising their right of self-defense, and that cannot be allowed to stand.”

Uncategorized

NRA News Report On The NY SAFE Act

July 18, 2013 by 1 Comment

Ginny Simone of NRA News has been doing a series of in-depth special reports on various issues that impact gun owners. Her latest is a report on the New York SAFE Act and the arrest of Greg Dean. Mr. Dean was arrested for violating the NY SAFE Act when a State Policeman inspected the magazine of  his .40 S&W pistol. The magazine contained 9 rounds or two too many under the NY Safe Act.

Mr. Dean’s arrest has gotten some notice. What hasn’t gotten as much notice was Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka’s decision not to prosecute the case.

Uncategorized

NY SAFE And Jobs

April 27, 2013 by 5 Comments

It isn’t only the large firearm manufacturers whose business is affected by the NY SAFE law. While I’ve talked about Remington in the past, the law also impacts small manufacturers who have less clout. A case in point was recently publicized by WHEC-TV of Rochester.

Just Right Carbines of  Canandaigua makes a modern version of the camp carbine in 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. The design of the JR Carbine allows it to be made with some off-the-shelf parts from the AR including the stock, pistol grip, and trigger mechanism. Therein lies the problem – the pistol grip. Because the JR Carbine uses a pistol grip, it is illegal to sell in New York.

The response of Gov. Cuomo’s office is illustrative of the disdain they have for the firearms industry.

“For years, gun manufacturers have modified their products for sale in
New York State, and the new law does not change that. The SAFE Act is
designed to keep military-style assault weapons that have the potential
to cause the greatest harm out of our communities while still respecting
New York’s long tradition of hunting and sport shooting.”

Let’s be clear about one thing. Cuomo and the rest of the gun prohibitionists respect nothing about hunting or sport shooting.  It is only something that they have to endure so as to get the votes from those “Upstate hicks”. If it costs a few jobs in western New York, so be it. I would imagine that as soon as an industrial recruiter from South Dakota or Texas or Alabama sees this story, Messrs, Fargnoli and Cutri will be getting a call.

Uncategorized

Cuomo: Guns For Hollywood But Not New York Citizens

February 28, 2013 by 1 Comment

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) is asking for “technical amendments” to the NY SAFE law that he rammed through the New York Assembly and Senate earlier this year. These technical amendments would allow film makers to use firearms for film and TV productions that are denied to ordinary New Yorkers.

“We spend a lot of money in the state bringing movie production here, post-production here, so obviously we would want to facilitate that,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who wants to expand the film and TV tax credit.

He said movies and TV may use fake guns that wouldn’t be subject to the new law but the industry wants “certainty.” The revised law would allow them to use real weapons without real ammunition.

“There’s no reason not to make a change like that to give an industry comfort, especially when it’s an industry we want to do business in the state,” the governor said.

There is a Yiddish word for what Gov. Cuomo wants to do. That word is chutzpah.

Uncategorized

Which Is Worse – Possessing Kiddie Porn Or A New 8-Round Magazine? (Corrected)

February 18, 2013 by 4 Comments

If you answered “Kiddie Porn” to the question posed in the headline, you are an objective, rational person. If you answered “an 8-round magazine”, you might be a member of the New York State Assembly or State Senate.

Arma Borealis has a very interesting post up that shows how New York State criminal statutes treat such crimes as possessing child pornography, arson, rape, riot, and negligent homicide. They all are classed as a lower-degree offense than the possession of a new greater than 7-round magazine produced after the enactment date of the NY SAFE law. That law treats the magazine possession as a Class D felony.

I just shake my head in disgust at the misplaced priorities of Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) and the state legislators in New York.

CORRECTION: As much as I’d like to believe that the gun prohibitionists in the New York Assembly and State Senate made possession of a greater than 8-round magazine a Class D felony, that is incorrect. Miguel at the Gun Free Zone corrected me on that. It is either a Class B or Class A misdemeanor depending on whether it is a first or subsequent offense and whether it was possessed inside or outside the home. The section of the law in question is below.

I should take this as a reminder to check and double check something that is just too good to be true.

UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A LARGE CAPACITY AMMUNITION FEEDING DEVICE IS A
   40  CLASS A MISDEMEANOR.
   41  S 265.37 UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF CERTAIN AMMUNITION FEEDING DEVICES.
   42    IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON TO KNOWINGLY POSSESS  AN  AMMUNITION
   43  FEEDING  DEVICE THAT SUCH PERSON LAWFULLY POSSESSED BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE
   44  DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO  THOUSAND  THIRTEEN  WHICH  ADDED
   45  THIS SECTION, THAT HAS A CAPACITY OF, OR THAT CAN BE READILY RESTORED OR
   46  CONVERTED  TO ACCEPT MORE THAN SEVEN BUT LESS THAN TEN ROUNDS OF AMMUNI-
   47  TION, WHERE SUCH DEVICE CONTAINS MORE THAN SEVEN ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION.
   48    IF SUCH DEVICE CONTAINING MORE THAN  SEVEN  ROUNDS  OF  AMMUNITION  IS
   49  POSSESSED WITHIN THE HOME OF THE POSSESSOR, THE PERSON SO POSSESSING THE
   50  DEVICE  SHALL, FOR A FIRST OFFENSE, BE GUILTY OF A VIOLATION AND SUBJECT
   51  TO A FINE OF TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS, AND FOR A SECOND OFFENSE, BE GUILTY OF
   52  A CLASS B MISDEMEANOR AND SUBJECT TO A FINE OF TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS AND A
   53  TERM OF UP TO THREE MONTHS IMPRISONMENT.
   54    IF SUCH DEVICE CONTAINING MORE THAN  SEVEN  ROUNDS  OF  AMMUNITION  IS
   55  POSSESSED  IN  ANY  LOCATION  OTHER  THAN THE HOME OF THE POSSESSOR, THE
   56  PERSON SO POSSESSING THE DEVICE SHALL, FOR A FIRST OFFENSE, BE GUILTY OF
       S. 2230                            25                            A. 2388

    1  A CLASS B MISDEMEANOR AND SUBJECT TO A FINE OF TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS AND A
    2  TERM OF UP TO SIX MONTHS IMPRISONMENT, AND  FOR  A  SECOND  OFFENSE,  BE
    3  GUILTY OF A CLASS A MISDEMEANOR.

Uncategorized

Oh, The Irony!

February 2, 2013 by

In the little Mohawk Valley village of Ilion (population 8,053) sits the nation’s oldest continuously operated arms manufacturer Remington Arms. It employs over 1,300 well-paid and talented workers in a region that has seen over 11,000 manufacturing jobs lost since 1990.

The village had a town meeting in January before the vote on the NY-SAFE Act. As you can well imagine, their concern was over jobs and not gun control.

The NY-SAFE bill was enacted into law and the concerns over jobs was ignored.

So it should come as no surprise that a number of states have contacted the Freedom Group about moving their Remington Arms plant to a state that is more appreciative of gun rights and gun manufacturing jobs.

At least five states have contacted the parent company of Remington Arms to encourage the gun manufacturer to relocate in response to New York’s new, tougher gun control laws.

Lawmakers from Michigan, South Carolina, Arizona and Oklahoma have all sent letters to Remington’s owner, Freedom Group, since the state Legislature passed tougher gun control legislation two weeks ago. Texas first contacted the company in November 2012.

While North Carolina isn’t mentioned in that list, I would be surprised if officials from the state’s economic development office haven’t already trekked to Madison, NC to speak with Freedom Group executives about relocation. If they haven’t, they are being derelict in their duties.

Mohawk Valley economic development officials and politicians are taking these contacts very seriously. Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney (R-New Hartford) called fears that Remington might relocate “realistic” while Herkimer County IDA Executive Director Mark Feane said they are very concerned given the incentives that other states might offer.

No one knows at this time what the Freedom Group will do. However, if they do move the Remington Ilion plant, I would find it deliciously ironic if the trucks moving the plant’s machinery just happened to detour around the Governor’s Mansion and the New York Capitol Building on their way out of state. It might lengthen the journey by a few hours but it would be worth it to remind politicians about the law of unintended consequences.