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S2844 and A930 By Bob Brannan
NY Senate bill S2844 and its companion NY Assembly bill A930 are currently in their respective committees and, as they may see movement forward, we need to be proactive in calling our representatives in the Assembly and in the Senate to express our opposition. You should have, when you call, the bill numbers and a brief description.
Essentially this bill authorizes the State Police to set up a bureau, financed by a fee you will have to pay. All federal NICS checks would have to go through this NY State Police Bureau instead of directly to the FBI, as has been the procedure. The NICS check acts on a “shall issue” basis while this NY State bureau could covertly serve its political masters and become a “may issue” basis.
Can anyone see the increased possibility of bureaucratic delay, either intentional or unintentional? As a hint to the answer: if a NICS check has no response within 3 days, the sale may proceed; under this NY State law, the time period until the sale may proceed is lengthened to 30 days.
If you are denied permission to purchase a gun, you must appeal within 30 days. But there is no time limit on NY State’s response to the appeal! A denial could become an indefinite denial.
While this bureau was authorized in the “Safe Act”, it was never funded. This bill finances it with your fees. The wording in this bill states that the fees charged shall not exceed the amount of the costs to run the bureau. (And, of course, government bureaus are known for their efficiency and cost effectiveness.) While this bureau is set up to work on gun purchases, it could be easily expanded to cover the purchase of ammo.
Currently, the FBI does not charge for a NICS check. This bill will require a Federal Firearms Licensee to pay NY State (amount currently unknown) for the background check. Then, the dealer will directly or indirectly charge the customer. As with all taxes, you eventually pay them.
In the end we will be funding NY’s efforts to limit guns/ammo by creating more costs, roadblocks, paperwork and regulations to infringe on our constitutional rights.
The Firearm Owners' Protection Act of 1986 (FOPA) is a federal law that makes it illegal for the national government or any state in the country to keep any sort of database or registry that ties most firearms directly to their owner. Can we expect this new NY State bureau to obey the law?
These are the same folks who want to legalize pot and sports gambling (while increasing funding efforts against those addictions). They let felons out of jail and ignore crime if committed for “approved” reasons. We must be proactive...or else!
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