There are lots of good reasons why the United States Constitution directs that Americans’ right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Here’s another one: the government sucks at governing. Even “common sense” gun laws designed with the best of intentions delay or deny the right to keep and bear arms when administered by the bureaucratic bloat that is our public service sector. To wit: a provision of New York’s ironically-named SAFE Act “allows” pistol permit holders to opt out of Freedom of Information Act requests for personal information. To do so, gun owners have to submit a form by May 15 listing their reason for seeking privacy. You can guess what happens next. If not, read this from usatoday.com and weep . . .
County clerks say the forms’ popularity has office staff working overtime and clerks pulling workers from different divisions to help organize the information. Some clerks said they have started sending the forms to county judges for approval to stay ahead of the process.
“Right now we are absolutely overwhelmed, we have lines out the door and our staff are stressed to the max,” Monroe County Clerk Cheryl Dinolfo said. “We are treading water and doing what needs to be done to get through the day.” . . .
Dinolfo said about 1,000 of the county’s forms came from new pistol-permit applicants because the law also has spurred a surge in people buying guns. Monroe County, home to the state’s third largest city in Rochester, has about 45,000 pistol-permit holders.
As my old high school friend used to say, my hearts pumps piss for them. They are both the product and the perpetrators of laws that are fundamentally flawed. Never mind the “opt out” info bit of New York’s permitting process, there shouldn’t be a permitting process in the first place.
This is what happens when a free people surrender their freedom to a government that’s supposed to protect it: they lose their rights by degrees. And the more hurdles government places on people attempting to exercise their rights, the more likely they are to fail to clear them. Or have someone in authority block their progress.
In most counties, county judges approve or deny the opt-out requests. Then the forms are sent back to clerk’s offices where pistol permit holders’ status is updated and logged as private.
The opt-out form allows a number of reasons a gun owner can seek to have information kept private. Among them: being a law-enforcement official or a victim of domestic violence, having a safety fear after grand jury service, or being concerned about harassment . . .
Not all county judges are giving automatic approvals. Rockland County Clerk Paul Piperato said his county judge sent back forms that lacked information or failed to provide a legitimate concern for sealing the records. Piperato plans to return the forms to residents so they can resubmit them . . .
“The law is very unclear and never told those who do the work how this process should be completed,” Cortland County Clerk Elizabeth Larkin said. “County by county they are trying to figure out how to comply with the law with no resources and no written regulations.”
This is just a warm-up folks. As of April 15th, 2013, Empire State owners of [newly defined] assault rifles have one year to transfer their weapon to an out-of-state owner or register their rifles with the State Police. Violators face jail time, fines and confiscation.
County clerks said they are bracing next for registration of assault weapons, set to begin April 15 when state police make forms available online.
“It is an unfunded mandate, and it was dumped on us,” Larkin said. “It should have never happened on the state level with no thought of the consequences to local county offices.”
If you think about it, it would be worse if the government administered this gun registration scheme efficiently. But mark my words: mistakes will be made—in administration and enforcement—-and bloodshed will result. And people will learn, again, still, the government is not your friend.
Ms. Roy suggests that a person has no chance if a deranged student busts through the door with a handgun already drawn and firing. Of course such a situation is extremely desperate for the victim and their chance of survival could honestly be quite low. What Ms. Roy fails to understand, however, is that a person has the physiological capability to fight back for at least 10 seconds even if the criminal shot the victim in the heart. That is ample time to draw a concealed handgun and shoot back before going unconscious and possibly dying.
Further, regardless of the first victim’s ability to survive and/or fight back, the noise of the gunshots would alert other armed citizens — citizens who can draw and have their handguns in a ready position before the criminal enters their location. That armed citizen has an outstanding chance of prevailing.
As for Ms. Roy’s comments about teachers who twitch every time a student reaches into their backpack, those are silly comments. No one operates like that.
There is no getting around it. A criminal who already has a drawn gun and aimed at you before you even seem them has a huge advantage. Nevertheless that doesn’t mean that armed citizens have zero chance. And it certainly is not a reason to prohibit citizens from having the means to fight back.
“As for Ms. Roy’s comments about teachers who twitch every time a student reaches into their backpack, those are silly comments. No one operates like that.”
She does now. That’s probably one of the reasons for writing that piece in the first place, the biggest reason being guilt.
The words are there on the paper, so that must mean everyone in that location is doing what they say. That is actually their thesis right there. Which is frightening, I can’t really think of any other governing body in human history that has ever been that stupid. In Rome you were not allowed weapons in the city, not even soldiers. Don’t ever doubt if you walked around there you would have seen plenty of togas heavy on the left side.
Surrender? who the fuck said anything about surrendering. This shit was dropped on us.
Surrender? who the E F F said anything about surrendering? this stuff was dropped on us with a hammer and a sickle.
What we need is not a reduction of guns imposed coercively by top-down gun control legislation.
What we need is a reduction in paranoia. And gun control laws are only going to INCREASE paranoia, not decrease it.
We need you — yes, you, reading this — to voluntarily stop carrying your gun everywhere for protection.
By all means, please KEEP using it for hunting and shooting sports! Those are fun. But don’t carry it for personal safety. There is something deeply wrong with our culture when so many law abiding citizens have enough irrational fear that they believe they must at all times have a means of discharging deadly force to defend themselves. That they’re so frightened that the only thing that gives them peace of mind is the ability to kill — if necessary — a hypothetical attacker.
Trust me, you think it gives you peace of mind to carry, but it only gives you peace of mind the way that an alcoholic needs a drink for peace of mind. Or a toddler needs a security blanket for peace of mind. So just slowly wean yourself off.
True, the (very low) odds of being a victim of random violence or crime MIGHT be against you, and the moment you get rid of your gun, you might wish you had it because you’ll face a “threat” from “multiple attackers.” And having a gun could have saved your life.
But. Is a life where so much stress and anxious energy is spent on having a means (or multiple, escalating means) of lethal force to protect yourself from the perceived “danger” that’s potentially lurking around every corner really qualify as “living” at all?
Sorry if this is incendiary. I’m on your side — I don’t think tougher gun control laws are the answer. I think a new way of thinking and living, however, is.
Dude, were you born without a nutsack or did someone cut it off later on in life?
Neither, actually.
Why is my “nutsack” relevant to this conversation? I don’t want to make assumptions, because I don’t know you, but it sounds like you are projecting your own insecurities.
What I want to know is where you get off telling others how to Live.
Do you pay their way , IF not STFU and let them live their life and you live yours.
This has to be satire , for surely you have not seem the Cato map of DEAD INNOCENTS.
This person has been educated far beyond her intelligence. having a Ph.D in one field doesn’t qualify you to opine on a subject you’ve never engaged in or studied. When I was a prof. at two colleges, I carried at all times. The faculty handbook said that would earn “immediate dismissal”. So? You don’t pay me enough for me or my students to come home in a box! No one knew b/c I know how to conceal a gun.
“A lone teacher should never be asked by the NRA or anyone else to use a lethal weapon to save her students. The chance of failure is far too high, the cost far too great.”
I can’t imagine that she actually thinks that price is higher than NOT defending your students, or letting them defend themselves.
A lone teacher should never be asked by the NRA or anyone else to use a lethal weapon to save her students. The chance of failure is far too high, the cost far too great. – Dr Lucinda Roy
No lone teachers at Virginia Tech or Sandy Hook were asked to save their students using a lethal weapon. They also weren’t asked to sacrifice their lives for their students but they did. How much different would the situation been had one of these men or women had been armed. I don’t think any one of them would have flinched at using a firearm to defend their students against maniacal psychopaths. I have slightly edited the stories of their brave sacrifices as retrieved from Wikipedia to remove the names of the murderers. You decide if at least one or more would have used a firearm.
Virginia Tech Professors Kevin P. Granata upon hearing a commotion from his office on the third floor of Norris Hall, Professor Granata brought 20 students from a nearby classroom into his office, where the door could be locked. He and another professor, Wally Grant, then went downstairs to investigate the situation. They were both shot; Grant was wounded and survived, but Granata died from his injuries. He was 45 years old. None of the students locked in Granata’s office were injured.
Professor Liviu Librescu – Librescu, who taught a solid mechanics class in Room 204 in the Norris Hall during April 2007, held the door of his classroom shut while the murderer attempted to enter it. Although he was shot through the door, Librescu managed to prevent the gunman from entering the classroom until most of his students had escaped through the windows. He was struck by five bullets, with a shot to the head proving to be fatal. Of the 23 registered students in his class, one, Minal Panchal, died.
Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach were meeting with other faculty members when they heard gunshots. Hochsprung, Sherlach and lead teacher Natalie Hammond immediately left the room, rushed to the source of the sounds, and encountered and confronted Lanza. A faculty member who was at the meeting said the three women called out “Shooter! Stay put!” which alerted their colleagues to the danger and saved their lives. The murderer shot and killed both Hochsprung and Sherlach. Hammond ran back to the meeting room and pressed her body against the door to keep it closed. The murderer shot Hammond through the door, in her leg and arm.
First grade teacher Victoria Soto – as the murderer entered her classroom, Soto reportedly told him that the children were in the auditorium. When several of the children came out of their hiding places and tried to run for safety, the murderer shot them dead. Soto put herself between her students and the shooter, who fatally shot her. Six surviving children from Soto’s class and a school bus driver took refuge at a nearby home. Police found the five children who had been hidden in the closet by Ms Soto unharmed when they entered the classroom.
Anne Marie Murphy, a teacher’s aide who worked with special-needs students, shielded six-year-old Dylan Hockley with her body, trying to protect him from the bullets that killed them both. Dylan Hockley was found dead cradled in her arms.
Rachel D”Avino as teacher’s aide who had been employed for a week at the school to work with a special-needs student Josephine Gay . Josephine Gay’s mother could not be with her in her final, harrowing minutes inside Sandy Hook Elementary School and struggles with it every day, but she has taken comfort from learning that Josephine’s aide wrapped her arms and body around her and other children, shielding them from the horror of a rampaging killer.
Lauren Rousseau, a substitute teacher, had herded her first grade students to the back of the room and was trying to hide them in a bathroom. Rousseau and most of the students in her class were killed; a six-year-old girl was the sole survivor. She was shot in the head by the killer.
Professor Roy is what is wrong with our country today. She is the classic liberal coward who wants the state to do everything for her including defend her personally from the ravages of evil.
Worse yet like most liberals who control our educational system Professor Roy wants to deny the ability of others with more courage and determination from providing for their own safety and the safety of those in their care.
She should be ashamed to walk anywhere near the engraved Hokie stones of the fallen Virginia Tech professors who put their students lives before their own.
I recently nominated Mr. Gottlieb for the 2013 Presidential Citizen’s Medal.
2 birds with one stone so to speak, hehe. I encourage everyone to do the same.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/citizensmedal/submit-a-nomination
Gotta have one, and no, IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A PURSE, except maybe to purse fanciers.
I’m an absolute cordura bag FREAK, can’t get enough of ’em, and this is one of the greatest and most useful I’ve seen. For me, a must-have. Thanks, Dan, for letting me know about it.
But TURSE? I have a really large vocabulary, and had to look it up. It’s not entirely inappropriate to describe the subject, but WTF? Did you get it as a “word of the day” on your iPhone?
In other words, THANKS.
I didn’t see anything in the EO (source article) about Biometric interlocks.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but since Trigger Locks (bad idea) and Gun Safes aren’t firearms they wouldn’t be under the BATF’s perview. If BATF doesn’t look at them what’s wrong with CPSC making sure the products actually provide the security they advertise.
Sure this is a required step to enforce mandated “safe storage”, and I’ve always been a Caveat Emptor (buyer beware) guy, but in and of itself I don’t see a problem with some standards for locks.
I love how since victims have been experts for so long now even bystanders who failed to do anything now think they’re experts, too.
Reductio ad absurdum is right!
I’d also add a large dose of false dilemma.
Anyone with a little foresight and common sense would’ve deduced that ammo was THE item to pay attention to. While the herd bought every AR and mag in sight within weeks (for several thousand $$), normal ammo prices were available for a few months before the shortage. But I admit, the 22LR shortage caught me by surprise too.
You can only hoard so many guns/AR/mags before it becomes impractical and redundant. But ammo is expendable and replaceable, and cheaper to stock. It’s like fuel for cars. Which person is better off: a) the guy with 20 guns and 2 boxes of ammo or b) the guy with 2 guns and 20 cases of ammo? Following the herd will never get you ahead.
Watch that fool of a Gov in NY dip into his piggy bank and buy all of these weapons just to destroy them.
In MA, all guns are registered — handguns, rifles and shotguns. Registration occurs at the time of transfer by purchase, sale, gift, will, intestacy, you name it. It’s been that way since ’68. The Commonwealth is just trying to keep us safe, dontcha know.
Actually I love These man purses! Goes great in the night stand for that Bump In The Night situation. It’s all right there, light, mags, pistol (or 2). Plus I think it would reduce the chance of having to use deadly force if an intruder sees me walking around in my boxers and my man purse!
It can also hold your AR mags and back up pistol in case your rifle goes down. As I said in the Rob Pincus rifle malfunction article last week…..the only bad side is being seen at the range practicing your man purse draw.
this is begging to be a meme…”And not a single fuck was given.”
That film is quite powerful. I pray we aren’t destined to the same fate.
I believe my father left me one of these revolvers, except, this particular one has marks as follows: Acier Fondu; 00 1; and a crown with the following marks beneath it: R, star, C. I took it to a gun shop and they thought it might be an origional. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
What they don’t tell you is that many of those kids are drugged up on top of it.
I got the kindle download, it was a page turner, better than most, not as good as some.
I’d recommend it.
opiv5of 5% off order…just worked for me.
I would lecture this kid about the dangers of smoking. But many years ago I learned not to lecture people with AK’s. Doesn’t pay.
I have been thinking along these lines for years – the less people know you have, the better. I really want to put an NRA sticker on my car to show support, but it feels like an invitation for thieves to break my window looking for guns.
When I go to the range, I put my guns in soft cases and walk them briskly out to the car. I try to keep a low profile. I am not worried about my neighbors, but, like I said above, the less they know, the less likely they are to be tempted.
Robert,
Nicely put. Happy Easter to all.