New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) has made some more “equal” than others. 12/31/23, 7:50 AM LETTER: State's gun laws highlight inequality | Opinion | romesentinel.com

by Bohdan Rabarsky, Oneida-Herkimer chapter chair

New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) has made some more “equal” than others.

Until July of 2022, pistol permit holders were allowed to carry conceal in New York State as long as they had a valid New York State pistol permit.

The 2022 act changed all of that — basically turning the state into a giant “Sensitive Zone.” As usual, these laws are never thought out in advance as to their outcome and how they’ll effect everyday citizens.

Judges, district attorneys and assistant DA’s in rural areas were hesitant to appear in town and village court proceedings, since quite often there wasn’t any presence of law enforcement when a defendant was brought in or dropped off for an arraignment as they weren’t allowed to carry conceal even if they had a pistol permit as “All Government Buildings” is one of the categories within the Sensitive Zone that was created when the CCIA took effect.

Now you see, that doesn’t sit well with the elites in New York State when it comes to who can have a conceal carry permit and where they can carry concealed.

This reminds me of the famous George Orwell “Animal Farm” quote on equality: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

All New York State citizens are equal, but when it comes to the ability to carry concealed, judges and district attorneys, some citizens lives are more valuable than others.

All this is doing is creating a separate class of citizens and a division among citizens, which is wrong. When the Founding Fathers wrote the Second Amendment it didn’t discriminate by employment, wealth or social status, it applied equally to all citizens of America.

Here come our state legislators with bills as they were asked to remedy the situation. In October, state Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-53, sponsored state senate bill S7712 which would allow judges, justices and criminal prosecutors that are licensed to possess a concealed firearm in court where no magnetometer or security personnel are present.

Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon, D-119, sponsored a similar bill in the Assembly.

Why is it law abiding gun owners of New York State have to live by the rules of the new CCIA but as soon as the safety and well being of certain citizens is threatened, they come up with exceptions to the rule? Are their lives any more valuable than ours or are they just selective in whose life is more valuable? Maybe the legislature should be proactive and think these things through before passing these bills into law. The New York State legislature passed the CCIA of 2022 into law, and we all should live by it or abolish it completely as it’s unconstitutional to begin with.

romesentinel.com-LETTER States gun laws highlight inequality.pdf

— Bohdan Rabarsky, Oneida-Herkimer SCOPE chapter chair

Festivus Report  by Tom Reynolds

Let’s finish the old year in a way that aptly summarizes the year under the guidance of the Biden /Harris administration.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) shared his annual “Festivus” report, showing Americans how some of their tax dollars were tossed down the drain in 2023.  Paul’s report showed how the U S government wastes money.

Below is the link to the actual report.  You will not enjoy reading it!

Note the last item: $236 billion ($236,000,000,000) in improper payments.

Festivus-2023.pdf (senate.gov)

Some of the highlights:

Barbie Doll Photo Used to Get COVID PPP Funds…………………….portion of $800,000,000,000

In the RED: Interest on Our National Debt is Expensive ……………..………...….$659,000,000,000

Dr. Fauci’s Monkey Business on NIH’s “Monkey Island”……………………..………..….$33,200,000

USAID Fund to Boost Egyptian Tourism...........................................................................$6,000,000

SDA’s Cutting-Edge Research: Walking Dogs in the Summer……………...…...………..Unknown

DHS Training Employees to Be Their “Authentic & Best Selves”……………..…...………..Unknown

Russian Cats-On-A-Treadmill Studies Funded by NIH……...………........…..portion of $2,700,000

The Government Pays Dead People … Again!.....………………………………………...$38,000,000

DOD’s Lobster Tank………………………………………………………………………………….$8,395

How to Ruin Expensive Military Equipment Part 1: Engines………………………...……$89,000,000

How to Ruin Expensive Military Equipment Part 2: Transmissions……………………....$12,600,000

How to Ruin Expensive Military Equipment Part 3: Tank Treads………...……………....$68,000,000

“Real Fake”: DHS’s 1st Graphic Novel About Disinformation………………………………...Unknown

DHS’s 2 nd Graphic Novel: COVID Disinformation…………..………………………………...Unknown

NIH’s Meth-Head Monkeys………………………………………………………portion of $12,000,000

Treasury’s Pot of Cash for Political Campaigns……………………………….……….…$400,000,000

NIH’s Monkey Casino: Gambling for Drinking Water………………….…….....portion of $3,700,000

SBA’s Ticket to Backstage………………………………………………….……………….$200,000,000

Studying COVID-19 “Misinformation” On Social Media In Black & Rural Communities…$3,800,000

Dr. Fauci’s Transgender Monkey Study………………………………………………………...$477,121

Whoopsie: Improper Federal Payments………………………………………………$236,000,000,000

FLASHBACK: The Government Likes Its Gambling Monkeys…………………………….…$171,000 T

A Christmas To Remember

The July 4th 1776 Declaration of Independence from Great Britain had real world consequences for the signers.  One of them, Benjamin Rush, recalled: “Do you recollect the pensive and awful silence which pervaded the house when we were called up, one after the other, to the table of the President of Congress, to subscribe what was believed by many at the time to be our own death warrants?”

While independence was being celebrated in Philadelphia, 23,000 British soldiers and 10,000 Hessian mercenaries were being unloaded from ships in NYC Harbor, where George Washington, by order of the Continental Congress, had to defend the undefendable.

On August 26th, the battle began on Long Island and the right wing of the American forces was about to be cut off and destroyed.  But a group of Americans who were variously called “Washington’s Immortals” and the “Maryland 400” did not retreat. Instead, they made a suicidal charge which bought time and allowed the American army to survive.  For their efforts, the Americans were bayoneted by the Hessians.

A large portion of the American army had retreated to Brooklyn with the East River at their backs.  The British generals did not recognize the appalling state of the Americans and, more importantly, remembered their horrendous losses taking Bunker Hill. So, they laid siege and used the Royal Navy to attempt to cut off the East River from retreat.

Washington’s only chance was to cross the mile wide East River - with its treacherous tidal currents - to the temporary safety of Manhattan.  Security was airtight and so secret that John Glover, the leader of the “Marblehead Regiment” of mariners that would ferry the army across, was not told of the purpose until it was time to man the boats, which were a combination of rowed and sailed boats.  The crossing would be made in total darkness in a horrendous rain storm with the mariners depending on their experience to guide them to the other shore. 

The tides and winds cooperated for the first two hours and multiple crossings went well.  Then, the tides and winds shifted, and the mariners were unsuccessfully rowing against tides and wind, making it impossible to complete the retreat before sunrise and the British becoming aware of what was happening.  Suddenly, the winds died and shortly thereafter shifted in the American’s favor.

When dawn arose, some Americans were still in Brooklyn, but a thick fog covered the Brooklyn side - but not the Manhattan side.  A fog was very unusual at that time of the year and it hid the Americans and allowed the complete evacuation.  Only one boat and three men were captured by the British.

Eventually, the colonial army was completely driven out of New York and it retreated across New Jersey to Valley Forge Pennsylvania, where things became even more desperate.

The enlistments of the bulk of his army were due to expire in a few weeks and there was little hope of many reenlistments.  Not just because of the devastating defeat in New York but the army was undersupplied in almost every area; many soldiers had no shoes and had been wearing the same clothes – now rags - for months.  Food was scarce.  Defeatism ran through the army.

There is no record of Washington contemplating giving up.  Instead, Washington gained control over whatever negative emotions he had and formulated a plan, which led to the most important Christmas in American history.

On the early evening of December 25, 1776, with the temperature barely above freezing and in a freezing rainstorm that lasted all night, the Continental Army loaded onto boats and crossed the ice clogged Delaware River in three groups.  The crossing was so treacherous that one group did not make it across and a second group, that did make it across, turned around and went back.  Only Washington’s group was able to march to the attack.

Hours behind schedule, with one-third strength, the army arrived at their target, Trenton New Jersey. 

Officers reported to Washington that the ice storm had soaked the muskets and many could not fire because of wet powder.  These officers suggested that the attack be abandoned.  Washington’s reply was the equivalent of “fix bayonets”.

While the enemy was yawning and waking up, what looked like the army-from-hell had come screaming from the depths to kill them; the Continental Army was in rags with long hair and matted beards coated in rain and mud.  The battle was brief and the Hessians surrendered. 

In what was the potential breaking point of the Revolutionary war, when all hope seemed to be lost, Washington did not lose hope.  When his officers despaired, he never lost sight of his goal.  He and his army persevered and they eventually won.  They set an example that should live today; we’re Americans, we’d cross a frozen river on Christmas to kill our country’s enemies. 

Of late, our forefathers have come under a lot of undeserved criticism.  All but forgotten is the immense personal courage that it took to sign the Declaration of Independence and the physical courage for the “Maryland 400” to make a suicidal attack. As Americans, we have a lot to be thankful for at Christmas and those that risked their lives to gain us our freedom need to be honored, not denigrated.

Luck certainly played a part in the successful American Revolution: the unusual fog covering the retreat from Brooklyn, for instance.  At times, God is on our side.  Another reason to be thankful this Christmas.

Today, many are dejected and in a funk over the politics.  Summoning the energy to continue the fight to preserve the Constitution seems beyond some people’s wills.  To them it would be easier to, in a very real sense, surrender to the likes of Alexandria Octavio-Cortez and tell her, “You win.  We give up.  Do with the USA what you will.”   

We need to remember that many of us took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.  That oath had no expiration date!  If you didn’t take that oath, it’s not too late to commit yourself to that principle. 

Thomas Paine wrote, “These are the times that try men’s souls.  The sunshine soldier and the summer patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country…”

Are you a sunshine soldier and summer patriot that will find other excuses to occupy your time, in this modern crisis, and let the Constitution be shredded by the forces of Socialism?  Do you believe our current situation is less winnable than it appeared on Christmas morning, 1776? 

Paine also wrote, “Tyranny like hell is not easily conquered.”

When we were born in the USA, we won the lottery!  It’s time to pay the price of that lottery ticket.  Our forefathers were willing to pay that price and we need to join with them. Are you willing to stand up and fight for the USA: its Constitution; its traditions; its future; and your family?  The choice is clear - get engaged or surrender.

NY Senate Proposed Bill S00930 and NY Assembly Proposed Bill A01566  by John Elwood Here is another attempt by the anti-2nd Amendment gun-grabbers to do away with your 2nd Amendment protected rights. Restricts the sale of ammunition to only individuals authorized to possess such weapon; creates the no gun database under the division of criminal justice services. Details of bill: A person is guilty of criminal sale of firearm ammunition when such person sells any firearm ammunition to a person not authorized pursuant to law to possess a firearm capable of firing such ammunition. A Class B misdemeanor.  Punishment for a Class B misdemeanor include: In New York State, misdemeanors are punishable by community service, fines, probation and/or a jail sentence.  You can serve up to 90 days in jail for a Class B misdemeanor.  Misdemeanor convictions will typically show up on routine background checks by employers or law enforcement agencies.  A misdemeanor conviction stays on your record forever.  However, as of October 2017, a person can ask a court to seal up to two criminal convictions of which either can be misdemeanors, but only one can be a felony.  Create a no-gun database containing name, date of birth and any other appropriate information as deemed necessary by the division of criminal justice service.  The division will allow for any person selling a firearm or firearm ammunition with the state to check the no-gun database for the buyer of such firearm or firearm ammunition. Bill goes into effect 1 November next succeeding the date of which it becomes law. State Senator Roxanne Persaud (D); Senator since 2015.  Member of the codes committee where the bill is now.  Bachelor and Master of Science in Education Administration.  Her district 19 covers New York City; No corresponding SCOPE Chapter. History– S-00930 Referred to the Senate Codes Committee on January 9, 2023.                A-01566, referred to Assembly codes committee on January 17, 2023. Sponsor of S00930: SCOPE opposes passage of these bills!

Take Action

NY Assembly Proposed Bill A03314  by John Elwood

The anti-2^nd Amendment gun-grabbers never stop introducing proposed bills to do away with your 2^nd Amendment protected rights.  Here’s another one.

A03314– Requires liability insurance for owners of firearms, rifles, and shotguns.

Details of the Bill:

Adds a new section to penal law – Section 400.04

• Must have liability insurance BEFORE ownership or BEFORE an issuance of a gun license.

• Amount of insurance shall be determined by the Superintendent of Financial Services specifically covering any damages resulting from any negligent acts involving the use of such firearms, rifle or shotgun while owned by the owner.

• Failure to own liability insurance results in a fine from $150 - $1,500 and immediate revocation of owner’s registration, license, and any other privilege to own or possess a firearm, rifle or shotgun.

• Owner still responsible if firearm, rifle, or shotgun is lost or stolen until the loss is reported to the police/Sheriff.

• The bill goes into effect 90 days after bill becomes a law

• Any person owning a firearm, rifle, or shotgun has 90 days from the effective date of this provision to get liability insurance.

• Bill will not apply to police officers.

• Jeffery Dinowitz - District 81; No corresponding SCOPE County chapter.

• Christopher Burdick - District 93; No corresponding SCOPE County chapter.

• Anna Kelles – District 125; No corresponding SCOPE County chapter.

• David Weprin – District 24; No corresponding SCOPE County chapter.

• Phara Souffrant Forrest – District 57; No corresponding SCOPE County chapter.

         ___________________________________________________________
Get involved, write, call, or email your representatives. Tell them to vote NO! 

Partisan Bill– 5 Democrats Sponsoring:

There is a NO SAME AS BILL in the NY Senate.

Status– Introduced to Assembly Insurance Committee on February 2, 2023.

SCOPE opposes this bill!

You can find A03314 and other bills on SCOPE's Take Action page.

Go Woke Go Broke  by Tom Reynolds

People tend to travel in similar groups and share similar beliefs and interests.  So, it should come as no surprise that the leftist people who want to destroy the 2^nd Amendment are, pretty much, the same people who are pushing the Woke agenda.  How is that going?

You may be aware that Disney betrayed its roots and was leading the Woke effort.  Disney CEO Bob Iger recently admitted defeat, pledging to stop the left-wing propaganda and start entertaining again.  The CEO of the world’s biggest entertainment conglomerate has just confirmed: Get woke, go broke.

Iger said: “Entertain first, not messages.”  He added that “positive messages for the world” are great but shouldn’t be forced on the public or used as the story’s primary job.  (I disagree with Iger defining Woke as a ‘positive message’ which leads me to believe Iger isn’t really serious but hopes to fool people into returning to Disney products.)

_______________________________________________________________

And if that doesn’t convince you that ‘going Woke means going broke’,  one of the propaganda arms of the Democrat Party, (and rabidly anti-2^nd Amendment) the far-left Washington Post, has had another layoff and just cut 120 jobs through buyouts and has promised that layoffs will commence if 120 more staffers do not accept buyouts.  If involuntary layoffs happen, Washington Post CEO Patty Stonesifer warned that they would offer “significantly less generous benefits than the voluntary package.”

According to the farther left New York Times, the Washington Post is on track to lose $100 million in 2023.  (Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon also owns the Washington Post so he can afford to subsidize it but has apparently decided that good business practices supersede propaganda.  Of course, good business practices would include reporting the news instead of propaganda.)

Why label their reporting as propaganda?  John Nolte of Breitbart listed a few reasons:  

·       Russia Collusion Hoax

·       Hands Up, Don’t Shoot Hoax

·       Jussie Smollett Hoax

·       Covington KKKids Hoax

·       Very Fine People Hoax

·       Seven-Hour Gap Hoax

·       Global Warming Hoax

·       Russian Bounties Hoax

·       Trump Trashes Troops Hoax

·       Policemen Killed at Mostly Peaceful January 6 Protest Hoax

·       Rittenhouse Hoax

·       Border Agents Whipping Illegals Hoax

·       NASCAR Noose Hoax

·       COVID Lab Leak Theory Is Racist Hoax

·       Hunter Biden’s Laptop Is Russian Disinformation Hoax

·       Joe Biden Will Never Ban Gas Stoves Hoax

·       COVID Deaths are Over-Counted Is a Conspiracy Theory Hoax

·       Mass Graves of Native Children in Canada Hoax

·       Hamas Hospital Hoax

·       John Fetterman Is Healthy Hoax

Other than that, where’s the propaganda?  (Sarcasm intended.)

Anheuser-Busch's beer brand Bud Light employed transgender social media personality Dylan Mulvaney to promote its product. That cost its parent company more than $15 billion and over 23 percent of its stock valuation in just six weeks.

They, too, had some layoffs.

Anheuser-Busch's marketing vice president, Alissa Heinerscheid, who spearheaded the campaign, was placed on leave, as was vice president for mainstream brands Daniel Blake.  Benoit Garbe, the chief marketing officer for the embattled company’s US portfolio of beers, canned cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages since 2021, “will be resigning at the end of the year in order to embark on a new chapter in his career.”

Maybelline, for which Mulvaney also recently did promotions, was likewise targeted for boycotts—by feminists who objected to a biological male modeling women's sports bras and cosmetics.  (Guys weren’t too excited about that either!)

Nearly 4,000 car dealerships signed an open letter to President Biden urging him to delay the timeline for proposed emissions standards that would force two-thirds of new vehicles sold by 2032 to be electric.

The groups stated in the letter: “Electric vehicles are stacking up on our lots, which is our best indicator of customer demand in the marketplace…no government agency, no think tank, and no polling firm knows more about the automobile customer than us”.

EV inventories have increased by 506% from a year ago, with EVs sitting on lots an average 82 days versus 64 days for gas-powered vehicles. In response to slowing demand, automakers like Ford and GM are cutting production.

Julia Martinez reported, “Sticker shock” is a real thing for most people, even after government incentives.  And the maintenance costs and the practical impact of charging time are real considerations that purchasers are making.

In a related incident

In January 2022, Michigan’s Progressive Governor Whitmer announced a massive financial agreement with GM, which ultimately saw Michigan taxpayers footing an $824 million bill to have the automaker promise to invest billions in auto jobs across the state. Whitmer said at the time: “GM’s $7 billion investment in Michigan — the largest in their history — will create and retain 5,000 good-paying jobs and enable us to build on our legacy as the place that put the world on wheels.

In two separate state filings, GM executives said they are laying off 1,300 auto workers starting January 1, 2024.

A crushing budget deficit of $780 million has forced San Francisco Mayor London Breed to eliminate the budget of the Office of Reparations, which was considering payouts of up to $5 million each to long-term black residents of the city.

The deficit is blamed on an exodus of work-from-home residents and taxpayers, coupled with a rise in crime, outdoor drug abuse, and homelessness, and chased away retail businesses.  (In other words, woke policies.)

Then there is Target, which is not learning from experience.

In mid May, Target CEO Brian Cornell described his company's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives of offering Woke merchandise for sale: “I think those are just good business decisions, and it's the right thing for society, and it's the great thing for our brand."

Target customers disagreed and within just 10 days of Cornell's statement, Target lost $10 billion, in value, watching its stock price fall daily. The company’s second-quarter earnings report shows a 5.4% decrease in sales—the first drop in roughly six years.

Did Target learn anything?  Nope.

Target has reportedly hired a Senior LGBTQIA+ Segmentation Strategist and Pride Leader. (Try fitting that title on a business card!)  His job is to wokify the aisles.  Gary Thompson goes by “gaycruella” on social media.

SCOPE constantly points out that it is the gun owners who won’t vote that are causing us to lose elections.  Apparently, these same gun owners vote with their feet – and their wallets - but can’t find time to solve the core problem and vote on election day.

There’s an election coming in eleven months that will determine if the Constitution lives as the law of the land or is just a temporary impediment to the liberal left to be worked around.   Let’s not hesitate to tie these leftist groups together - since they already are together.

Federal Gun Registry History  by Tom Reynolds

It is often stated that the federal government is prohibited from maintaining a gun registry.  Here is a short history of the federal gun registry prohibitions to which you can refer, to get good information.

Congressional Research Service serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress.  On March 4, 2022 it released a report (*) which is the basis for the following.

Four provisions of current federal law prohibit a national registry of most, but not all, modern firearms.

1934 National Firearms Act (NFA)

Under the Department of Justice (DOJ), the ATF is the principal agency that administers and enforces the NFA

Under the NFA, certain firearms deemed to be particularly dangerous are more highly regulated. (e.g., machine guns, short-barreled shotguns, and silencers/suppressors.)

ATF maintains a centralized registry of NFA-regulated firearms (e.g., machine guns, short-barreled shotguns, and silencers) that are held privately by unlicensed persons and publicly by nonfederal law enforcement agencies.

For 34 years, FY1979 through FY2012, Congress attached a proviso to the annual ATF appropriations that blocked any proposed rule, that would have required FFLs to submit quarterly reports on firearms sales and dispositions. 

For FY2012, the word of futurity (“hereafter”) was included in this, which indicates it intended the prohibition on these quarterly FFL reports to be permanent law (H.Rept. 112-284, p. 240). (**)

Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA)

Under the Department of Justice (DOJ), the ATF is the principal agency that administers and enforces GCA; however, the FBI administers the GCA background check provisions.

The GCA requires anyone who engages in the business of manufacturing, importing, or dealing in firearms to be licensed federally. These licensees are known collectively as Federal Firearms Licensees. (FFL)

All modern firearms are regulated under the GCA if they are based on post-1898 designs and are capable of accepting self-contained, commercially available ammunition.  In addition, certain devices (e.g., silencers / suppressors) also fall under the GCA definition of “firearm.”

For nine years, FY2004 through FY2012, Congress included a general provision in the annual DOJ appropriations bill that required the FBI to destroy background check records within 24 hours on persons who are found eligible to receive and possess firearms. This provision was crafted because a 90-day NICS audit log was maintained by the FBI during the Clinton Administration.

For FY2012, Congress inserted a word of futurity (“hereafter”) in this provision, which indicates it intended for the 24-hour destruction requirement to be permanent law. (***)

Firearms Owners’ Protection Act (FOPA), 1986 Under 18 U.S.C. §926,

The Attorney General is authorized to prescribe the rules and regulations necessary to carry out the GCA. Section 6 of FOPA amended §926 to prohibit a registry of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions.( ****)

Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, 1993

Congress amended the GCA and required FFLs to initiate a background check on any prospective unlicensed customer seeking to acquire a firearm from them through a sale, trade, or redemption of firearms exchanged for collateral (18 U.S.C. §922(t)). The FBI facilitates these background checks through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Subsection 103(i) of the Brady Act prohibits the establishment of a registration system of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or dispositions with any records generated by NICS, except for records on persons found ineligible to receive or possess firearms.(*****)

Notes:

(*) Link to actual report     3 (congress.gov)

(**) “Provided, That no funds appropriated herein or hereafter shall be available for salaries or administrative expenses in connection with consolidating or centralizing, within the Department of Justice, the records, or any portion thereof, of acquisition and disposition of firearms maintained by [F]ederal firearms licensees. (Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012, P.L. 112-55, November 18, 2011, 125 Stat. 552, 609.

(***)Hereafter, none of the funds appropriated pursuant to this Act or any other provision of law may be used for—(1) the implementation of any tax or fee in connection with the implementation of subsection 922(t) of title 18, United States Code; and (2) any system to implement subsection 922(t) of title 18, United States Code, that does not require and result in the destruction of any identifying information submitted by or on behalf of any person who has been determined not to be prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm no more than 24 hours after the system advises a Federal firearms licensee that possession or receipt of a firearm by the prospective transferee would not violate subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, or State law

(****) No such rule or regulation prescribed after the date of the enactment of the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act may require that records required to be maintained under this chapter or any portion of the contents of such records, be recorded at or transferred to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or any political subdivision thereof, nor that any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or dispositions be established. Nothing in this section expands or restricts the Secretary’s [Attorney General’s] authority to inquire into the disposition of any firearm in the course of a criminal investigation. (P.L. 99-308, May 19, 1986, 100 Stat. 449, 459.)

(*****) No department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States may—(1) require that any record or portion thereof generated by the system established under this section be recorded at or transferred to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or political subdivision thereof; or (2) use the system established under this section to establish any system for the registration of firearms, firearm owners, or firearm transactions or dispositions, except with respect to persons, prohibited by section 922 (g) or (n) of title 18, United States Code or State law, from receiving a firearm.

S04150  by John Elwood

In 2022, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a New York law on who is allowed to carry a concealed weapon in public by ruling that the New York law was unconstitutional.  The Supreme Court ruled the ability to carry a pistol in public was a constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment. 

The Constitution never seems to stop Governor Hochul. 

Eight days later, on July 1, 2023 New York State Governor Hochul signed into law the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA).  Significant provisions of the CCIA includes an ammunition background check (backdoor registration) prior to the purchase of ammunition, a fee of $2.50 for each purchase of ammunition, as well as a $9.00 fee for any purchase of a firearm, rifle or shotgun. 

And the anti-2A Left never stops.

On November 29, 2023, Democrats in the United States Congress, led by Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico), Mark Kelly (D -Arizona), Michael Bennett (D-Colorado), and Angus King (I-Maine), introduced the most sweeping list of gun prohibitions in the 21^st century, including prohibiting nearly all semi-automatic handguns.  The bill labelled the “Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act (GOSAFE) will require all semi-automatic rifles above .22 caliber to have a permanently affixed magazine capacity of 10 rounds or fewer while outlawing magazines of higher capacity.  Further, the bill requires government approval of any future semi-automatic firearm design before production occurs.  Finally, the bill will also ban build-it-yourself ghost gun kits.

In 2024, New York State Democrats will continue their goal of gun control by bringing forth an avalanche of gun control bills to the New York State Legislature. In 2023, they included: A03314; S02978; S01701/A07885; S07364/A07489; S00930/A01566; A00754, A00442; S07365; A05049/S02635; and S04150. 

S04150 is a particularly egregious bill.  S04150 requires limiting the acquisition of a rifle, or shotgun to one every ninety-day period.  S04150 was introduced on February 23, 2023 and was sent to the consumer protection committee.  Provisions of S04150 do not apply to police officers, and would take effect 180 days after signed into law by the New York State Governor.  The bill states a violation of S04150 is a class A misdemeanor. 

Class A misdemeanors are the most serious type of misdemeanor.  Someone can be punished for a class A misdemeanor is up to 1 year in jail.  Additional penalties include fines, community service, three (3) years’ probation, and driver’s license suspension.  If convicted of a misdemeanor, it can stay on your record forever, but a 2017 New York State bill allows for the sealing of one misdemeanor conviction under certain circumstances.   

S04150 is partisan bill sponsored by State Senator James Sanders, a Democrat from New York City (district 10 - Queens).  (There is no corresponding SCOPE chapter to Senator Sanders’ district.)  Currently, he is the chairman of the NY State Senate Committee on Banks.  An attempt was made to ask Senator Sanders why he feels there is a need for this bill, and what is his source research document, but the Senator did not respond to this author’s inquiry.

Obviously, Shooter’s Committee on Political Education (SCOPE) OPPOSES S04150.

It seems like democrats from New York City are in competition with each other to determine who can create the most draconian firearm legislation, and impose it on New York State citizens.  The good news is there is no SAME AS bill for S04150, meaning there is no corresponding Assembly bill working through the Assembly at the same time S04150 works through the New York State Senate.  However, gunowners (SCOPE) cannot rely that a corresponding Assembly bill does not appear in 2024. 

I continually hear there are 4 to 5 million-gun owners in New York and if NY State gunowners all voted we would not be in danger of losing our Second Amendment rights. 

OK, we all agree Second Amendment restrictions are unconstitutional, but how do we fight back?  SCOPE is, “A Second Amendment Defense Organization, defending the rights of New York State gun owners to keep and bear arms!”   SCOPE’s mission statement states we accomplish our mission by, “Tirelessly making every effort to educate anti-gun politicians, and publicly speaking and debating gun issues with anti-gun organizations”.  Ask yourself, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS?  I’m not just talking about SCOPE board members, but ALL SCOPE members. 

If ALL SCOPE members aren’t actively writing and calling your legislator to OPPOSE S04150, we are not doing enough!   If we are not voting because we think these restrictive gun laws won’t affect us, we are WRONG and we aren’t doing enough!  If we are not educating ourself on gun laws, and then debating anti-gun organizations, we are not doing enough! 

SCOPE is trying to synchronize its efforts with other Second Amendment organizations and making donations to help fund a lawsuit against violations of the Second Amendment.  But it won’t be enough until we have stopped this flood of anti-2^nd Amendment legislation and that will require members to act individually as well as a part of SCOPE.

OPPOSE S04150!

2^nd Circuit Decision

Last week, the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit issued a decision on several 2nd Amendment cases.  The decisions are lengthy and will, no doubt, get numerous follow up legal opinions and will certainly be appealed.  Below is a non-lawyer’s update, pending more detailed analysis.

First, a brief history.

On June 23, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 opinion authored by Justice Thomas, struck down New York State’s restrictive concealed carry law.

New York (and other blue states) immediately began attempting to work around the ruling, which resulted in New York passing its new Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) - only eight days after the Court’s ruling.  (Not a lot of time for public debate or deep constitutional consideration going into it.)

Numerous lawsuits were filed to declare CCIA to be unconstitutional and were initially heard in lower courts.

While the actual cases are being decided, a subset of requests were filed for restraining orders to stop enforcement of CCIA.  These do not request a decision on the lawsuits themselves but only to stop enforcement of the new law’s while the cases are being decided.

The lawsuits and requests for restraining orders were heard in lower federal courts with mixed decisions, although many were favorable to gun rights advocates.  These decisions were then appealed to the federal 2nd Circuit.   

Five cases for Restraining Orders to stop enforcement of CCIA were heard in tandem at the Second Circuit on March 20th.

Antonyuk II v. Nigrelli, challenges CCIA on almost everything on 2nd & 1st Amendments issues

Christian v Nigrelli, challenges CCIA rules about Concealed Carry on private property (NY Penal Law 265.01-d)

Hardaway v. Nigrelli, challenges CCIA’s rules about Concealed Carry in houses of worship as a 2nd Amendment violation.

Spencer v. Nigrelli, challenges CCIA’s rules about Concealed Carry in houses of worship as a 1st Amendment violation

Gazzola v. Hochul, challenges a multitude of CCIA’s Federal Firearms Licensee rules

Because of the lawsuits, Governor Hochul and the legislature saw several undefendable weaknesses in CCIA and changed a few parts of CCIA this past spring.  This is a common tactic of the left in order to moot parts or all of the lawsuits against them.  Basically, it was a small victory for gun rights advocates.  

See this link for more detail on those changes: https://scopeny2a.org/Briefings/13195733

Decision  of the 2^nd Circuit
The part of the Gazzola decision that is a victory for 2nd Amendment advocates reinforces the link between 2nd Amendment rights and access to dealers who sell firearms; having access to acquiring firearms is an essential part of ‘keep and bear arms.’ As attorney Paloma Capanna put it, “dealers in firearms are essential to the individual exercise of Second Amendment rights.”

In spite of the Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) direction to the Second Circuit to expedite the appeals, we waited 9 months for a decision on the restraining orders.  It’s a mixed bag of decisions that favored both sides with the ANTI-2nd Amendment advocates winning the majority.  The decisions will require more in-depth legal examination and, in any case, they will certainly be appealed.

The decision was made by three members of the 2nd Circuit Court and the decisions may be appealed to the full 2nd Circuit Court or to SCOTUS.  This could follow many paths and will certainly take much more time.  Meanwhile, this current decision of the 2nd Circuit as to injunctions will stay in place.

There were two decisions:

a 261 page decision that covered Antonyuk, Christian, Hardaway and Spencer;

a 36 page decision that covered Gazzola.

Gazzola dealt with Federal Firearms licensees (FFL) while the other four cases dealt with other parts of CCIA and sometimes those four overlapped.

Gazzola

In the 2nd Circuit’s own words: “…a State cannot impose a regulation on commercial firearms dealers as a class that has the effect of prohibiting law-abiding, responsible citizens from possessing common-use weapons.”

On the negative side, the 2nd Circuit dismissed many of the other claims for a restraining order because the plaintiffs did not have standing or because of gaps between state and federal laws.

The former is a tactic where, if you are going to lose on facts, argue that the plaintiffs aren’t allowed to sue on technical reasons so, even if the plaintiffs are correct, they can’t sue.

In denying standing, the 2nd Circuit made an extraordinary statement that the plaintiffs: “…have not shown that the New York law is so restrictive that it threatens a citizen’s right to acquire firearms.”  (How can it not threaten the right to acquire firearms when that was the purpose of the law!)  It then cites a case decided by the most 9th circuit (left coast), the most far left appeals court in the federal system.

The latter reason follows the traditional leftist strategy to delay by finding issues not addressed in court decisions.  For instance, D.C. v Heller was a SCOTUS victory for gun rights advocates but the left delayed its implementation by arguing it only applied to D.C. and not the states.  McDonald v Chicago closed that gap and said that Heller did apply to the states.  Then the Left argued that keeping and bearing arms only applied in the home until NYSRPA v Bruen shot down that argument.  (But there were 13 years between the Heller and Bruen decisions.)

The Other Four

CCIA designated most places in NY State into ‘sensitive areas’.  (Gun-free zones.)  The 2nd Circuit “split the baby” on this and left some gun free zones intact and did away with others. 

Privately owned properties that are typically open to the public like gas stations and grocery stores are no longer sensitive places. A concealed carrier can now go to public areas without worry of being arrested.

As to private homes being gun-free zones unless the owner makes a proactive statement that guns are allowed, the 2nd Circuit “Remand(s) the preliminary injunction…with respect to private property not open to the public for further merits analysis consistent with this opinion.”

CCIA required applicants for gun licenses to submit a list of their social media accounts to help officials assess their character and conduct. The 2nd Circuit rejected that requirement, on 1st and 2nd Amendment grounds.

But the 2nd Circuit upheld CCIA’s character requirement in licensing.  The judges wrote in their opinion. “Licensing that includes discretion that is bounded by defined standards, we conclude, is part of this nation’s history and tradition of firearm regulation.”

But…

While upholding the character provision, the 2nd Circuit acknowledged that it is “a spongy concept susceptible to abuse” (ya think!)  They further warned, “A licensing decision that uses ‘good moral character’ as a smokescreen to deny licenses for impermissible reasons untethered to dangerousness, such as the applicant’s lifestyle or political preferences, would violate the Constitution by relying on a ground for disarmament for which there is no historical basis.”

The 2nd Circuit lets the government have discretion in licensing.  Interestingly, in another case, the Rahimi case, the U.S. Solicitor General argued that the government should not have discretion.

The 2nd Circuit let stand these laws that are subject to abuse because it feels that abuses can be addressed on an exception basis, as they arise.  (As long as you have enough money and time to fight the government.) 

The 2nd Circuit also upheld the statute’s “catch-all” provision, which requires a license applicant to submit any other information required by the licensing officer that is necessary and related to the review of the licensing application. “Neither the history of licensing regimes nor Bruen itself supports the conclusion that the conferral of some discretion to a licensing officer to request reasonable supplementary information is unconstitutional.”  (Even when it results in the loss of a Constitutional right?) 

The 2nd Circuit also upheld the law's cohabitant requirement.  The panel found the law’s requirement for applicants to submit contact information for their current spouse or domestic partner, in addition to any adult cohabitants, is imperative to assess their moral character.  (Assess moral character: there is a barn door asking the Left to drive a Mack Truck through!  Wanna bet that NY State considers MAGA to be immoral?  Remember when Governor Cuomo said there was no place in NY for Conservatives?)

But the court affirmed a preliminary injunction in favor of Pastor Micheal Spencer and His Tabernacle Family Church in Horseheads, New York, who challenged the “sensitive places” provision in relation to houses of worship on the grounds it burdens his religious practice.

“The CCIA is not neutral because it allows the owners of many forms of private property, including many types of retail businesses open to the public, to decide for themselves whether to allow firearms on the premises while denying the same autonomy to places of worship,” the judges said in their opinion.

The named plaintiff in the case, Pastor Spencer, and the congregation of the Tabernacle Family Church will be allowed to carry firearms, but the injunction only applies to them.

However, remember the changes in the law made this past Spring:

2022’s CCIA, among other things, banned individuals from carrying firearms in “sensitive locations,” including houses of worship, with the exception of private security.  New York State’s 2023-24 budget amended CCIA.  The new law now allows armed “persons responsible for security at such place(s) of worship.”

The vague language in the law makes it unclear how churches can defend themselves.  The term “security guard” is defined as individuals “who have been granted a special armed registration card, while at the location of their employment and during their work hours as such a security guard.” 

Amy Swearer, a senior legal fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies told the Daily Caller that Hochul’s changes to the CCIA are “vague as to whether that can just be a concealed carry permit holder who is assigned to a security team or whether it has to be a licensed, paid security officer.”

While trying to hide the obvious leftward leaning slant to most of this judicial opinion, the NY Times revealed the true motives of the 2nd Circuit:

“…the appeals court allowed states broader freedom to justify new gun laws than had been understood by many judges in the wake of the Bruen decision.”  (In plain words, they ignored SCOTUS’ Bruen decision.)

Jacob Charles, a Pepperdine University law professor whose work was cited in the ruling, said in an interview that the interpretation would “allow states to have a lot more leeway in enacting gun regulations.”  (Don’t worry about what that pesky Constitution actually says, just twist it to your goals.)

As long as SCOTUS has its current roster of judges, when this ultimately reaches SCOTUS much of it should be overturned.  Until then…we're stuck and the lawsuits will continue.

Statistics  by Tom Reynolds Illegal Immigration Legal Insurrection reported that Jeh Johnson, former Department of Homeland Security Secretary under Barack Obama, once said that 1,000 border crossings in a day is a “bad day…overwhelms the system”, & that 4,000 in a day is a “crisis”. Fox news reported that there were more than 12,000+ migrant encounters at the southern border in one day, the highest single day total ever recorded. This includes 10,200+ Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal immigrants, amongst the highest daily totals for the Border Patrol ever recorded. Over 12,000 Migrant Encounters on Tuesday Sets ‘Single Day Total Ever Recorded’ (legalinsurrection.com) According to the report of the GOP Majority on the Committee on Homeland Security, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) released figures in May 2023 calculating the financial impact of the crisis for cities and states across the country.  It found that the annual cost just to care for and house the known gotaways and illegal aliens who have been released into the country under Mayorkas’ leadership could cost as much as an astounding $451 billion ($451,000,000,000).  That’s almost half a trillion dollars! Phase4Report.pdf (house.gov) Electric Vehicles Legal Insurrection also reports that Congress - at the urging of the Biden administration - agreed in 2021 to spend $7.5 billion ($7,500,000,000) to build tens of thousands of electric vehicle chargers across the country, aiming to appease anxious drivers while tackling climate change. Politico has just published an update on those funds and two years later, the program has yet to install a single charger. Federal officials authorized more than $2 billion of the funds to be sent to states but fewer than half of states have even started to take bids from contractors to build the chargers — let alone begin construction After Congress Allocated $7.5 Billion for Electric Vehicle Chargers, Exactly Zero Have Been Built (legalinsurrection.com) Gun Permits Ammoland reported that more than 260,000 Israelis have applied for firearm permits in the two months since the Hamas terrorist attacks, according to The Times of Israel. Note:  On December 1st, SCOPE reported that there were 214,913 NICS checks in the U.S.A. on Black Friday, alone. Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister, told the Times his office was approving 3,000 firearm permit applications per day, as opposed to around 100 per day before the terrorist attacks. “When the war started, we knew that we were right when we said that every person that has a weapon can save a life,” Ben Gvir said, according to the Times. “We need to enable as many people as possible to carry a weapon.” I It’s unfortunate that Ben Gvir said this in hindsight. Countless countries that had restrictive gun laws have been attacked by their neighbors.  That should never happen again, anywhere, because the ability to defend oneself is an inherent human right, which should transcend rules, regulations and borders. Current events demonstrate the incredible forethought our Framers had when they wrote the Second Amendment and codified the right to keep and bear arms into law. We became a nation of rifleman and riflewomen. Too many countries learned too late that there is no substitute for a gun culture, and that you simply cannot create a gun culture overnight, no matter how dire the threat. A Quarter-Million Israeli Gun Applicants Prove the Necessity of our Second Amendment (ammoland.com) Given the invasions in Ukraine and Israel, one would think that even the most ardent anti-gunners would rethink their Second Amendment position?  Then there are the millions of people who have entered the USA illegally; one has to believe there are a lot of people wishing the USA harm amongst them.  What’s a lot?  If the bad guys are only 1% of 10 million, that is 100,000.  And we can see from how well organized the EV Charging Station initiative was that we cannot count on the government to do its job and sort out the bad guys. But, in spite of the statistics and examples cited above, the anti-gunners will not change their position.  The gun-ban industry’s antipathy toward the Second Amendment has nothing to do with the fact that it saves American lives. Gun control is about control. The lives lost in gun-free zones are only collateral damage to the Left in their lust for control. The Biden-Harris administration has done more to infringe upon our Second Amendment rights than all other administrations combined, regardless of the real-world examples we see that prove the need for an armed, trained citizenry. Thomas Jefferson once said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.”  We’ve seen in the “mostly peaceful protests” of recent years that our government will not protect ordinary citizens lives and properties.  It’s up to us, the American citizen gun owner, to be prepared to provide the protection for ourselves that our government will not.