BLOOMBERG, SCHNEIDERMAN BLAST GUN BILL

Written by admin on . Posted in News & Features West Side Spirit, Notes From the Neighborhood west side spirit.

By Dan Rivoli

Legislation to force gun manufacturers to “code” bullets fired from semi-automatic pistols was tabled after State Senate Democrats failed to muster the 32 votes necessary to pass.

Stamping would help law enforcement officials identify the make, model and serial number of the gun that fired the bullet.

Most of the State Senate Republicans were either against the legislation or uncommitted. One Republican, Frank Padavan of Queens, supported the bill while three upstate Democrats vowed to be “no” votes.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a gun-control advocate who has donated to State Senate Republicans in the past, was a major supporter of the legislation.

After the measure was set aside, Bloomberg released a statement scolding the bill’s opponents, who felt that gun manufacturers would carry the financial burden of implementing the technology.

“This was a defeat for our police officers, district attorneys and the public—and a victory for criminals who use illegal guns to shoot and kill innocent people,” Bloomberg said in a statement.

State Sen. Eric Schneiderman, the bill’s author and an attorney general candidate, felt that the failure to pass the legislation was a setback for public safety. Schneiderman has since called for a new vote on the microstamping bill at a press conference in Long Island.

“Opposing microstamping is like opposing DNA evidence or fingerprinting to solve crimes,” Schneiderman said in a statement.

Tags: , , , ,

Trackback from your site.

  • Guest

    You only presented one side of the story.

    1) All of the benefits of this technology come from the developer of the technology and all independent testing done by academic and forensic agencies have raised serious questions as to its viability. To date there has been NO real world testing to see if the technology works as claimed by the developer.

    2) New York State already has a ballistics “fingerprinting” database called CoBIS. It was enacted 10 years ago to do exactly what microstamping is touted for. CoBIS has so far cost New York State $30 million and has resulted in not one single conviction as a result.

    3) More than half of the recovered crime guns would not be affected by microstamping because they are revolvers, long guns or guns no longer manufactured.

    4) Most crime guns are stolen or come from out of state and would not be traceable by microstamping.

    5) Microstamping is easy to defeat. All one needs is to file down the tip of the firing pin – about 10 minutes. In addition, a crook only needs to hang out a pistol range where LEGAL firearms shooters practice, and then collect the spent brass left behind. Commit a crime, and leave some other person's ejected cartridge and viola! The cops will be looking for the a innocent person.

    6) Crooks get their firearms illegally. In fact, Mayor Bloomberg himself stated that we need microstamping “to get the illegal guns off the street.” The problem is that crooks are well, crooks. They don't obey the law in the first place, so how will the cops trace their ILLEGAL handguns? Quite preposterous, when you think of it. Let's use an unproven technology that does not affect illegal weapons to get illegal weapons out of the hands of bad guys.

    7) How about focusing on the criminal and enforcing the laws on the books? Round up gang members, lock them up and forget about them.

    8) New York State already has among the most restrictive gun control laws in the country. Want to purchase a handgun legally? You MUST apply for a pistol license, which included a background check to the FBI and the NY State Police. Fingerprints and photos are taken, references are checked. Once your application is in, then you have a 6 month wait. After all that, you cannot even carry you pistol due to administrative restriction. For example, on Long Island, you license restricts you to carry to and from a range only. No stops for gas, ammo, food, nothing. And those rules are for upstate and Long Island. Want a pistol license in NYC? Good luck. Will never happen.

    The fact of the matter, microstamping is not about saving lives, protecting cops, or public safety. It is all about a State Senator named Schneiderman attempted to show off his toughness for his run for the state Attorney Generals office, backed by the power hungry Bloomberg, who wants to spread his influence.

  • aSh

    Dead on.. The commenter before me is completely right and the OP news flash is one-sided and faulty.

..