INTRODUCTION TO ARBALEST QUARREL SERIES ON RADICAL LEFT/PROGRESSIVE DUPLICITY, MENDACITY, AND HYPOCRISY

PART ONE

“Those whom heaven helps we call the sons of heaven. They do not learn this by learning. They do not work it by working. They do not reason it by using reason. To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment. Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven." ~Chuang Tse: XXIII, translated by the American writer, Ursula K. Le Guin; epigraph to Chapter 3 of her 1971 Sci Fi novella, “The Lathe of Heaven”

THE RADICAL LEFT AND PROGRESSIVES WILL CRUSH AMERICA INTO SUBMISSION IF THE NATION CONTINUES TO LISTEN TO THE NONSENSE  THEY SPOUT, FOR IT ISN'T KNOWLEDGE OR UNDERSTANDING THEY HAVE; AND HAVING NO WISDOM TO IMPART, THEY HAVE NOTHING OF NOTE TO SHARE

LOSS OF OUR NATION BEGINS WITH LOSS OF AN ARMED CITIZENRY

Never in our history, since the birth of the Nation itself, has our Nation faced a direct threat to its survival as it is facing today. This isn’t hyperbole. This is fact. Even in the face of the ravages of the American Civil War, and the calamity of the Second World War, and the threat posed to our Nation by Russia during its existence as the once powerful Soviet Union, during the Cold War era, has this Nation come closer to Armageddon. This fact is plain as day, on constant display, having commenced on the very day the Presidency of Donald Trump began—on noon EST on January 20, 2017, when Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States.Jealous and powerful elements both here and abroad have mobilized and joined forces to bring Trump down and have failed miserably. They are apoplectic over their consistent failures, and have been raging ever since.Immensely powerful, extraordinarily wealthy, abjectly ruthless, sinister, secretive forces, residing both here and abroad, have operated in concert to attack Trump’s Presidency and by extension to attack millions of Americans who voted for him in the General Election of 2016.These rapacious forces are ever devising and orchestrating, machinating and scheming. And they do so through the amalgam of: a duplicitous and compliant Press; treacherous and hypocritical politicians; recalcitrant and poisonous Federal Government bureaucrats; pestilential sympathizers in the entertainment business; virulent and violent and bellicose Radical Left activists; injurious or lackadaisical jurists; a pernicious academia; rapacious technology chieftains; and a host of hangers-on and fellow travelers and Anti-American sympathizers among the polity, have—all of them—failed to bring destruction both to the man and the Nation. They have failed to topple Trump and to destroy his Administration; and they have failed to destroy the will of the American people; and, to date, they have failed, utterly, to convince Americans to relinquish their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms; albeit, not for want of trying; and they are still doggedly trying.The only thing these perfidious, treacherous, malevolent, abhorrent forces have succeeded in doing is to draw unwanted attention to their goal of sucking the lifeblood out of this Nation, in a naked attempt to bring the Nation to heel; into the fold of the EU; and eventually, inexorably, unerringly into the grip of a new trans-global, supranational political, social, cultural, economic, financial, and legal system of governance; a new socialist world order ruled by a small cadre of sinister ministers, its heart resting in the interstices and bowels of Brussels.With 2020 hindsight the envious, fuming forces that had connived, threatened, and cajoled, albeit all for naught, to bring their stooge, the duplicitous, hypocritical, arrogant, and loathsome Hillary Rodham Clinton, to the seat of power in Washington, D.C., have licked their wounds and are intent on redressing their previous failure; to force the United States back on track toward realization of the goal of a one world socialist Government. And, if these ruthless forces succeed in placing their lackey, their factotum in the Oval Office, in 2020, everything this Nation has gained through the sacrifices of American patriots, from the American Revolution to the present day, will have been in vain. For, Americans will lose everything that has defined them and that has defined the Nation for over two hundred hears, commencing with loss of the right of the people to keep and bear arms, the most sacred fundamental, immutable right of all.

WHAT CAN ALL OF US DO TO KEEP THE RADICAL LEFT ANTIGUN MOB FROM INFRINGING THE FUNDAMENTAL, NATURAL, UNALIENABLE, IMMUTABLE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS?

Tell your Congressional Delegation, and your State and local Legislators that you expect them to honor their sworn oath and commitment to uphold the U.S. Constitution, as this requires them to take action to preserve and strengthen the right of the people to keep and bear arms; and that means protecting the natural right of self-defense. It also means that such firearms that are in common use including semiautomatic rifles, shotguns, and handguns, as well as revolvers, should be available to the average, law-abiding, rational American citizen. How can we best to achieve this goal? We can achieve this goal by meeting the threat to our most sacred, sacrosanct right by meeting those who would destroy our Nation’s Birthright head-on. Tell your Congressional Delegation to recommit to passing National Concealed Handgun Carry legislation.The most effective way to attack antigun Radical Leftists seeking to weaken the Second Amendment that it may wither on the vine, is not—as all too many Republicans have been seen doing—by capitulating to the Radical Left on the issue of gun ownership and gun possession; nor is it by sheepishly agreeing with and groveling to Radical Left antigun politicians in the Democratic Party and to Grassroots antigun activists. Doing so won’t serve to preserve our sacred right, but, rather, will compromise our sacred, unalienable right. No! We must not capitulate and we must convince Republicans in Congress not to capitulate to the antigun mob. They must never capitulate.

WE CANNOT SECURE OUR NATION BY RELINQUISHING OUR FIREARMS BUT WE SHALL SURELY LOSE OUR NATION FOR HAVING DONE SO

Americans cannot preserve the Second Amendment by negotiating with those intent on destroying it. And the Radical Left, along with the inordinately wealthy Globalist elites, who lust for world domination, have no intention of preserving the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in any form. Consider: no American can any longer easily and readily obtain a machine gun, submachine gun, selective fire assault rifle, short barrel shotguns and rifles, since they are all stringently regulated by the Federal Government. Even though these rifles, shotguns, and other firearms are personnel weapons, they are no longer readily available to the public, as the availability of these weapons went out the door with the passage of the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA), over eighty years. And, as the Arbalest Quarrel has repeatedly stated, the assault on “assault weapons” is an attack on all semiautomatic weapons, as the Radical Left antigun mob is aggressively mounting a campaign to ban all of them, not just some of them. Recently, the Radical Left “Mother Jones” made this very point. The title of the article, written by the Blogger, Kevin Drum, says it all: “We Need to Ban Semi-Automatic Firearms.”At least the guy is being honest, and not pretending to convey the impression that most Radical Left antigun proponents attempt to convey to the public, namely, that they wish to ban only some semiautomatic weapons, not all of them, just “weapons of war,” qua “assault weapons.” Were the antigun mob to get their way, an effective ban on some semiautomatic weapons would lead eventually and invariably to a ban on all semiautomatic weapons. And, from there, the Radical Left antigun mob would move for a ban on revolvers, single action and double action; and, on and on, to a ban on single shot firearms and black powder muzzle loaders. The Radical Left intends to confiscate all firearms, thus essentially negating lawful exercise of the right of the people to keep and bear arms.The best way to defend the unalienable right of the people to keep and bear arms is by clashing with the Radical Left elements in Congress and in the populace who seek to destroy it—bringing the fight directly, unabashedly, unreservedly, and forcefully to them.Keep uppermost in mind: the goal of the Radical Left is the same as the goal of transnationalist Globalist Elites. For, they both seek to undermine the United States as an independent sovereign Nation-State—to transform the Nation into a Socialist haven for millions of illegal aliens who have no understanding of our Nation’s history or any appreciation for our Nation’s Constitution, or of the nature of natural rights upon which our free Republic is grounded. The Radical Left and the transnationalists Global elite have no desire to educate illegal aliens, or even legal immigrants, for that matter, that they may readily assimilate; for, to do so, would defeat the aim of the Radical Left and the transnationalist Global elites, as they are in agreement on what they both seek to accomplish. They seek to effectuate a massive political, social, cultural, and economic transformation of our Country and, thereby, to bring the United States into the fold of the European Union. This was already underway during the Obama era, and it was to continue under Hillary Clinton, had she been “crowned” President.Fortunately, the Clinton Presidency bid failed. But, undaunted, the rapacious forces, that have sought ever to destroy this Nation, fervently desire to get back on track and to get back on track quickly, if need be, no later than 2020. They could not do so to date, try as they did, orchestrating a complex strategy directed to impeaching President Trump and removing him from Office. That didn’t happen. And it isn’t going to happen. But, there is no guarantee that these anti-American forces won’t succeed in sitting a Democratic Party stooge in the White House in 2020, and they are plugging away to do just that. But, in the interim, with their plan of undermining the sovereignty of our Nation—if not sooner, then later—they know they must weaken the Bill of Rights. And to do so, they know they must commence with de facto repeal of the Second Amendment. We see this occurring with the latest call for new curbs on semiautomatic weapons that the Radical Left subsumes under the false vernacular of ‘assault weapon.’ We see it in the Radical Left’s call for universal background checks, whatever that means. And, we see it in the call for application of so-called “Red Flag” laws, throughout the Nation.As the Arbalest Quarrel has previously stated, antigun groups have undertaken three salient tactics in their aggressive assault on the right of the people to keep and bear arms, and these tactics are always taken out of the closet whenever a mass shooting occurs, as such a tragic event operates as a useful pretext for through which the Radical Left antigun zealots assail the Second Amendment again and again.Their tactics include, first, expanding the domain of banned firearms. Americans see this in the ferocious, noxious, incessant attack on semiautomatic firearms, aka, assault weapons.Their tactics include, second, expanding the domain of individuals who are not permitted to own or possess any firearm. Americans see this in the attempt to impose draconian, unconstitutional “Red Flag” laws on thousands of average, law-abiding American citizens. Red Flags operate by turning this Country into a Nation of spies, Shoo-flies. Doing so is the hallmark of the Totalitarian State, where people spy on others and pry into the affairs of others.And, their tactics include, third, making it increasingly difficult for Americans to exercise the right to keep and bear arms—increasingly difficult for those Americans who don’t otherwise fall within a statutory prohibition preventing them from owning and possessing firearms or fall victim to oppressive Red Flag laws.This third tactic involves making gun ownership and possession an administratively demanding, daunting, onerous, expensive, and psychologically depressing experience and proposition for gun owners, as gun owners will never know when something they do or something they say might tend to negatively impact continued exercise of their Second Amendment right. Radical Left antigun elements in our Nation, along with their transnationalist benefactors, know that one major stumbling block to defeating the Second Amendment and, in fact, one major stumbling block in compromising any of the other Nine Amendments to the U.S. Constitution that comprise our Bill of Rights, is to effectuate a change in the way in which Americans view their Bill of Rights, to change their mindset. What does that mean? Just this: The founders of our Free Republic perceived the Bill of Rights to comprise laws intrinsic to man. That is to say, the founders perceived the rights, codified in the Bill of Rights, to precede the creation of the Nation. They perceived the rights as an indelible part of the psyche of man. And, what does that mean? It means that the first Ten Amendments comprise rights and liberties bequeathed to man by the Divine Creator. This is what the founders meant by referring to the rights as fundamental, unalienable, and immutable. Since such rights are not created by man, no man can lawfully or morally rescind those rights. This proposition entails that Government, as a man-made construct, cannot lawfully or morally rescind the rights embodied the Bill of Rights, either.For the Radical Left and their transnationalist benefactors, these ideas, that serve both as the cornerstone of our Constitutional Republic, and the cornerstone of individual autonomy, are an anathema. That is why they feel obliged to ignore, modify, abrogate or utterly erase any Right set forth in the Bill of Rights, when circumstance, as they see it, dictates, or mere fancy happens to affect them. For both the Radical Left and for their transnationalist benefactors, no rights and liberties exist that are not perceived as man-made, bestowed on man by other men or by Government; and, so, they perceive nothing in rights and liberties and laws that isn’t subject to refinement or outright abrogation. This is a very dangerous viewpoint; one that is at loggerheads with the very preservation of our Nation as a free Republic; and one that is at loggerheads with the idea of the dignity and autonomy of man.We will explore these ideas in depth in the next several articles, utilizing the assertions and policy statements of two Radical Left “Potentates,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Senator (D-CA), Kamala Harris, as examples of the logically unsound underpinnings of the Collectivist ideology that the Radical Left embraces.We will demonstrate, through an analysis of their assertions and policy statements, the true danger the Radical Left poses to our Nation, to its Constitution and to its people. By extension we will show how the assertions and policy positions of the Radical Left are incoherent and nonsensical, and that, on logical grounds, alone, do not provide an intellectually satisfactory and morally and legally sustainable basis for transformation of this Nation in the way and manner they seek.The Socialist Utopian dream that both the Radical Left and the Globalist “elites” envision, as bringing public order and comfort to its inhabitants, is doomed to failure. Indeed what it is they truly seek to accomplish is more likely a cold calculated ruse in which to bind this Nation to other Western Nations, in a reprehensible attempt to effectuate a one world Socialist union of once independent nation-states. In that effort, if they succeed, we will witness the dire realization of a Radical Left Socialist Dystopian nightmare; a nightmare that will bring misery, remorse, and profound unease to us all.__________________________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

ANTIGUN ACTIVISTS’ RELENTLESS ASSAULT ON LONG-GUNS

PART FOUR

MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH THE ACTIVE ASSISTANCE OF ANTIGUN AND OTHER RADICAL GROUPS PURSUE ANTI-SECOND AMENDMENT AGENDA THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ENHANCING SCHOOL SAFETY AND SECURITY.

ANTIGUN ACTIVISTS TARGET SEMIAUTOMATIC LONG-GUNS FOR ELIMINATION THROUGH SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN: THE PROXIES FOR ANTIGUN GROUPS.

Make no mistake: the relentless assault on semiautomatic long-guns that antigun activists call “assault weapons” is itself an assault on civilian ownership of all semiautomatic weapons, not merely some of them. This relentless assault on so-called “assault weapons” is an attack on the natural and sacred right of the people to keep and bear arms, codified in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.American citizens should not believe for a moment that antigun activists and their cohorts in State legislators and in Congress, and those who echo their sentiments in Hollywood and in the mainstream media, and the billionaire benefactors behind the scenes who fund the effort to destroy our sacred rights and liberties do not—all of them— seek to end civilian gun ownership in this Country. They say they merely support “common-sense” gun laws and “sensible” constraints on gun ownership. But their principal goal is confiscation and eventual elimination of all firearms in the hands of civilians.Through enactment of the National Firearms Act of 1934, civilian access to selective-fire and fully automatic firearms has been effectively eliminated. Since that time antigun activists have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to ban semiautomatic guns defined as ‘assault weapons.’ But, the distinction between semiautomatic handguns and semiautomatic long guns construed as ‘assault weapons,’ that antigun activists and legislators feel American civilians should not be permitted to own and possess, is fuzzy. Each State has its own legal standards.Against the backdrop of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy, many jurisdictions are enacting or are attempting to enact increasingly more onerous firearms laws. The distinction between semiautomatic weapons defined as banned ‘assault weapons’ and those that aren’t is becoming increasingly tenuous. Antigun activists and antigun legislators strive to cast ever more semiautomatic handguns and long guns into the ‘assault weapon’ banned category.

ANTIGUN ACTIVISTS SEEK TO END CIVILIAN OWNERSHIP OF ALL SEMIAUTOMATIC WEAPONS IN THE UNITED STATES, NOT MERELY SOME OF THEM.

In a recent March 2, 2018 article, titled, “With AR-15s, Mass Shooter Attack with the Killing Power of Many U.S. Troops,” posted in the National Section of the paper edition of The New York Times newspaper, and published digitally, on February 28, 2018, under the title, "With AR-15-s, Mass Shooters Attack With the Rifle Firepower Typically Used by Infantry Troops," Times’ reporters wrote a lengthy article on semiautomatic long guns that was uncharacteristically discerning. In hundreds of earlier articles, NY Times reporters, Op-Ed columnists and NY Times contributors--and those writing for other mainstream newspapers--carelessly, and clumsily, refer to the semiautomatic long gun, modeled on the original Armalite AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, as an ‘assault weapon.’ The expression, ‘assault weapon,’ was invented by antigun proponents as a political device to pursue a gun confiscation agenda, attacking an entire category of firearms in common use among the law-abiding American citizens that comprise the civilian population. But the expression, 'assault weapon,' isn't a technically accurate one; and it is not to be confused with the expression, ‘assault rifle,’ which is a technically precise military term of art.Often, in the same newspaper articles, writers will use ‘assault weapon’ and ‘assault rifle’ interchangeably, likely not knowing the difference, and not caring if they did know as the distinction isn’t crucial to the running narrative, which is that both categories of firearms are, as antigun proponents perceive them, "weapons of war"--which is another political phrase, and one also tinged with emotion. "Weapons of war," so the narrative goes, have no place in “civilized” Countries.But, the March 2, NY Times article is decidedly different from previous antigun articles. The reporters here appear intent on demonstrating that semiautomatic long guns, modeled on the progenitor, Armalite AR-15, presently marketed to the civilian population, truly are military weapons and, so, must be banned. In that article, the expression, ‘assault weapon,’ doesn’t even appear.The article is presented as a seeming technical exposition on “AR-15” rifles. The Times reporters, who wrote the article, compare the civilian “AR-15” rifle to various military models. They assert:“The main functional difference between the military’s M16 and M4 rifles and a civilian AR-15 is the ‘burst’ mode on the many military models. . . . But in actual American combat these technical differences are less significant than they seem. For decades the American military has trained its conventional troops to fire their M4s and M16s in the semiautomatic mode—one bullet per trigger pull—instead of on ‘burst’ or automatic in almost all shooting situations. The weapons are more accurate this way and thus more lethal.” Consider these remarks for a moment. The NY Times reporters are using quasi technical exposition here in an attempt to make the case that no appreciable difference exists between “AR-15” rifles and their military counterparts. The reporters argue, tacitly, that  the politically charged expression, ‘assault weapon,’ and the military expression, ‘assault rifle,’ do accurately refer to the same kind of rifle, after all. But, do they? The NY Times reporters remark that many troops are issued military rifles without selective-fire capability at all. They do this in an obvious attempt to dispel the criticism constantly and accurately leveled against mainstream news reporters which is that some semiautomatic rifles marketed to the civilian population may exhibit superficial, cosmetic similarities to military rifles, but these rifles are functionally different from military rifles. Yet, in the recent NY Times article, the reporters categorically state that AR-15 semiautomatic rifles are functionally equivalent to military M4 and M16 assault rifles. But are they? The reporters assert:“The NRA and other pro-gun groups highlight the fully automatic feature in military M4s and M16s. But the American military, after a long experience with fully automatic M16s reaching back to Vietnam, decided by the 1980s to issue M16s and later M4s to most conventional troops without the fully automatic function,* and to train them to fire in a more controlled fashion. What all this means is that the Parkland gunman, in practical terms, had the same rifle firepower as an American grunt using a standard infantry rifle in the standard way.”It is abundantly clear that the Times’ reporters—clearly speaking for antigun proponents generally—are targeting all semiautomatic weapons for elimination, not merely some of them. They attempt to get across the idea that since any semiautomatic weapon is capable of rapid, controlled fire, all semiautomatic weapons represent a threat to public safety and must be eliminated—long guns and handguns.

THE STATE OF THE LAW ON SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLES MODELED ON THE ORIGINAL ARMALITE (“AR-15”) SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLE

The federal ban on “AR-15” rifles expired in 1994 when the 10-year sunset provision kicked in. But many States have enacted their own laws, banning these rifles. Two cases on whether so-called “assault weapons” fall within the core protection of the Second Amendment went up to the U.S. Supreme Court on a writ of certiorari. One of them, Kolbe vs. Hogan, 849 F.3d 114, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 2930 (4th Cir. 2017), en banc, cert. den., 138 S. Ct. 469, 199 L. Ed. 2d 374, 2017 U.S. LEXIS 7002, 86 U.S.L.W. 3264, was denied a hearing and review by the U.S. Supreme Court, without comment. An earlier case involving the issue, Friedman vs. City of Highland Park, 784 F.3d 406, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 6902 (7th Cir. Ill., 2015), cert. den., 136 S. Ct. 447, 193 L. Ed. 2d 483, 2015 U.S. LEXIS 7681, was denied but over a vigorous dissent from Justice Clarence Thomas, with the late Justice Antonin Scalia joining Thomas in the dissent.Justice Thomas stated in pertinent part:“The City’s ban is thus highly suspect because it broadly prohibits common semiautomatic firearms used for lawful purposes. Roughly five million Americans own AR-style semiautomatic rifles. See 784 F. 3d, at 415, n. 3. The overwhelming majority of citizens who own and use such rifles do so for lawful purposes, including self-defense and target shooting. See ibid. Under our precedents, that is all that is needed for citizens to have a right under the Second Amendment to keep such weapons. See McDonald, 561 U. S., at 767-768, 130 S. Ct. 3020, 3036-3037, 177 L. Ed. 2d 894, 914-915; Heller, supra, at 628-629, 128 S. Ct. 2783, 2817-2818, 171 L. Ed. 2d 637, 679-680.The Seventh Circuit ultimately upheld a ban on many common semiautomatic firearms based on speculation about the law’s potential policy benefits. See 784 F. 3d, at 411-412. The court conceded that handguns — not ‘assault weapons’ — ‘are responsible for the vast majority of gun violence in the United States.’ Id., at 409. Still, the court concluded, the ordinance ‘may increase the public’s sense of safety,’ which alone is ‘a substantial benefit.’ Id., at 412. Heller, however, forbids subjecting the Second Amendment’s ‘core protection . . . to a freestanding ‘interest-balancing’ approach.’ Heller, supra, at 634, 128 S. Ct. 2783, 2821, 171 L. Ed. 2d 637, 683. This case illustrates why. If a broad ban on firearms can be upheld based on conjecture that the public might feel safer (while being no safer at all), then the Second Amendment guarantees nothing."The Court’s refusal to review a decision that flouts two of our Second Amendment precedents stands in marked contrast to the Court’s willingness to summarily reverse courts that disregard our other constitutional decisions. . . . There is no basis for a different result when our Second Amendment precedents are at stake. I would grant certiorari to prevent the Seventh Circuit from relegating the Second Amendment to a second-class right."Despite the opinion of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, antigun proponents, including those occupying the lower appellate and district courts, evidently don’t give a damn either for high Court precedent or for our sacred, natural right, codified in the Second Amendment.And, this brings us to critical Second Amendment Soto vs. Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC., 2016 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2626; CCH Prod. Liab. Rep. P19,932, which the Arbalest Quarrel has written extensively about and will continue to do so. See, e.g., the AQ article, Soto vs. Bushmaster: Antigunners Take Aim at Gun Manufacturers.The Soto case arises from the deadly attack that occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, when a deranged young adult, Adam Lanza, 20 years old, stormed Sandy Hook Elementary School, fatally shooting twenty children and six adults, before turning a handgun on and killing himself. According to the allegations of the Soto Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint (CM), Adam Lanza murdered these school children and school staff with a Bushmaster AR-15, model XM15-E2S rifle.The Soto Plaintiffs contend that the Defendant, Bushmaster (Remington), manufacturer of the weapon, specifically, a Bushmaster AR-15, model XM15-E2S rifle, which, as alleged, the killer, Adam Lanza, used to commit the murders at Sandy Hook Elementary School—along with the firearms’ distributor and dealer who served as the intermediaries through which the weapons were sold to the killer’s mother, and ultimately fell into the hands of the killer, Adam Lanza—bears legal, not merely moral, responsibility for the deaths of children and adults that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and that, this is due to the fact of Defendant Bushmaster’s marketing of its AR-15 rifle to the entirety of the civilian population in this Country, and the manner in which the Defendant manufacturer, Bushmaster marketed its AR-15 model semiautomatic rifle to the entirety of the civilian population in this Country.The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (the ‘PLCAA’), Pub. L. No. 109-92, 119 Stat. 2095. 15 U.S.C. §§ 7901-03 (2005). The PLCAA provides immunity to firearms manufacturers and dealers from any lawsuit, pending or otherwise, fitting the Act's definition of a ‘qualified civil liability action.’ 15 U.S.C. §§ 7902-03, and the trial Court found for the Defendants’ on Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss. Plaintiffs appealed the adverse decision directly to the Connecticut Supreme Court, and the State high Court agreed to hear the case.Soon, the State Supreme Court of Connecticut will decide whether to affirm the trial Court’s decision dismissing Plaintiffs suit or remand the Soto case to the Superior Court of Connecticut. The State Supreme Court should affirm the trial Court and not remand the case. In fact, the State Supreme Court shouldn’t have agreed to hear the case in the first place since the PLCAA makes clear that plaintiffs in the Sandy Hook Elementary School cannot overcome Defendants’ qualified immunity. If, though, the case is remanded to the trial Court and if the trial Court reverses its previous stance, that can have dire consequences for manufacturers of semiautomatic rifles modeled on the Armalite AR-15. We shall wait and see. The Wall Street Journal, in an article, titled, “Key Gun Case Awaits Ruling in Connecticut,” published on March 17, 2018, discussing the Soto case, and posted online under the title, "The Court Case Making Gun Manufacturers Anxious," hints that the Connecticut Supreme Court may soon issue a ruling.The question is whether the Connecticut Supreme Court will be swayed by political considerations in light of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting incident. It shouldn’t, but, as the matter of semiautomatic long guns is now front and center in the public’s psyche due to massive negative coverage by the mainstream media, and, as we know that liberal Courts that have a dim view concerning the Second Amendment, it is anyone’s guess how the Connecticut Supreme Court will proceed. We must wait and see.This much, we do know, despite the opinion of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, antigun proponents, including lower Appellate and District Court antigun judges, don’t give a damn either for high Court precedent or for our sacred, natural right, codified in the Second Amendment. Lest there be any doubt about this, consider the words of the antigun New York Times Op-Ed Columnist, Bret Stephens, who made the following remark in an NY Times OP-Ed, posted, on February 16, 2018, titled: "To Repeat: Repeal the Second Amendment."“We need to repeal the Second Amendment because most gun-control legislation is ineffective when most Americans have a guaranteed constitutional right to purchase deadly weaponry in nearly unlimited quantities.” Hey, Bret—Any firearm is potentially deadly. The question is whether the person wielding it is responsible. And, Bret, how much ammunition is too much? Our guess is that for you, Bret, and for other like-minded sanctimonious antigun activists, even one round is too much.____________________________________*The Arbalest Quarrel contacted an expert on small arms weaponry. The Times' reporters' assertion is absolutely false. "Assault rifles" marketed to the military have two main configurations. One configuration has a three-way selector for the following three modes: safe, semiauto, and full auto. The second configuration has a four-way selector for four modes: safe, semiauto, full auto, and burst. Consider, if a military configuration were limited to semiauto mode only, there would be no reason for any rifle to have anything other than the "AR-15" designation as semiautomatic rifles issued to military troops would in fact be identical to the semiautomatic rifles presently marketed to the civilian population. It is true that Army troops and Marines are trained to use semiautomatic fire or burst fire in many instances in order to conserve ammunition and for accuracy. But, for extraction and when charging an enemy position head-0n, full auto is tactically necessary: hence, the need for a selector switch on military models, to serve varying combat needs. The NY Times reporters deviously mix pertinent facts with critical omissions, including an out-and-out lie. Deceptive "fake news" reporting is, unfortunately, to be expected from the mainstream Press as the Press promotes an agenda, and we see deceptiveness in abundance in this "news" article. The mainstream Press is in the business of propagandizing, of psychologically conditioning the American public to perceive the world in a false light. The Press is no longer in the business of informing and enlightening the public, if it ever were in the business of presenting factually accurate news accounts._________________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

CONGRESSMAN CHRIS COLLINS’ SECOND AMENDMENT GUARANTEE ACT (“SAGA”): A GOOD START BUT NOT A FINISHED PRODUCT

THE SECOND AMENDMENT GUARANTEE ACT

INTRODUCTION

The seminal Second Amendment Heller case (District of Columbia vs. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 128 S. Ct. 2783, 171 L. Ed. 2d 637 (2008)) made categorically clear and unequivocal that the right of the people to keep and bear arms is an individual right unconnected with one’s service in a militia; and the seminal Second Amendment McDonald case (McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U. S. 742, 780, 130 S. Ct. 3020, 177 L. Ed. 2d 894 (2010)) that followed Heller, two years later, made clear that the right of the people to keep and bear arms—an individual right—applies to the States as well as to the federal Government. Unfortunately, many State Legislatures, along with many legislators in Congress and, worst of all, many jurists on State or Federal Courts strongly oppose the holdings and reasoning of the Majority in Heller and McDonald. This animosity carries over to and is reflected in poorly drafted legislation and in poorly crafted legal opinions. Occasionally, though, State Legislatures and Congress get it right, and do draft laws recognizing the fundamental right of the people to keep and bear arms. Congressman Chris Collins’ (NY-27) Second Amendment Guarantee Act (“SAGA”) that the Congressman recently introduced in Congress is just such a bill. We heartily support the Congressman’s efforts. But, what might we expect?

WHAT IS THE POSSIBILITY OF PASSAGE OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT GUARANTEE ACT?

Unfortunately, not good. We take our cue from other pro-Second Amendment bills. We have yet to see movement on several national handgun carry reciprocity bills that presently exist in a state of limbo, locked up in Committee.  Even if Congressman Collins’ bill makes it out of Committee, and, further, is voted on and passes a full House vote, it likely would be held up in the Senate where it must garner a super majority—60 votes—to pass and see enactment. The bill likely would not pass as a “stand-alone” bill in any event. That means the bill would have to be tacked on to other legislation to have any chance of passage. But, assuming the bill were enacted, what might we expect from it?

WHY DID CONGRESSMAN COLLINS DRAFT THE SECOND AMENDMENT GUARANTEE ACT AND WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE BILL?

Congressman Collins, a Representative of New York, obviously had Governor Cuomo’s signature anti-Second Amendment legislation, the NY Safe Act, in mind, when he drafted this bill; for the bill, if enacted, is, ostensibly at least, at loggerheads with a key feature of the Safe Act—Section 37 of the Act—the Section that bans the possession and sale of all firearms defined as ‘assault weapons.’According to the Congressman’s Press Release “Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) has proposed new measures for protecting Second Amendment rights by introducing legislation to limit states authority when it comes to regulating rifles and shotguns, commonly used by sportsmen and sportswomen. The Second Amendment Guarantee Act (SAGA) would prevent states from implementing any regulations on these weapons that are more restrictive than what is required by federal law. Upon passage of this bill, most of the language included in New York State’s Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act of 2013 signed into law by Governor Cuomo would be void." But, is that true? Is the Press Release accurate? Or, does the Press Release presume more about the bill than what the bill produces, in the event the bill, as drafted, sees the light of day and becomes law?

WHAT DOES THE BILL SAY?

The bill (H.R. 3576), amends Section 927 (Effect on State Law) of Chapter 44 (Firearms), of Title 18 (Crimes and Criminal Procedure) of the U.S. Code.As presently enacted Section 927, says:“No provision of this chapter [18 USCS §§ 921 et seq.] shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of the Congress to occupy the field in which such provision operates to the exclusion of the law of any State on the same subject matter, unless there is a direct and positive conflict between such provision and the law of the State so that the two cannot be reconciled or consistently stand together.”Collins’ bill deletes the first word of Section 927—the word, “No,”—and replaces that word with the phrase, “Except as provided,” and, then adds language, establishing, inter alia, that States cannot enact laws pertaining to rifles and shotguns that are “more restrictive. . . with respect to such a rifle or shotgun.” In pertinent part, Congressman Collins’ modification of Section 927 of Title 18 sets forth:“A State or a political subdivision of a State may not impose any regulation, prohibition, or registration or licensing requirement with respect to the design, manufacture, importation, sale, transfer, possession, or marking of a rifle or shotgun that has moved in, or any such conduct that affects, interstate or foreign commerce, that is more restrictive, or impose any penalty, tax, fee, or charge with respect to such a rifle or shotgun or such conduct, in an amount greater, than is provided under Federal law. To the extent that a law of a State or political subdivision of a State, whether enacted before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this subsection, violates the preceding sentence, the law shall have no force or effect. For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘rifle or shotgun’ includes any part of a rifle or shotgun, any detachable magazine or ammunition feeding device, and any type of pistol grip or stock design.”What does the modification of Section 927 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code purport to do; and what does the modification of Section 927 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code mean?To understand the import of Congressman Collins’ bill, it is first helpful, in this instance, to understand what those who oppose it would do to challenge it, assuming the Second Amendment Guarantee Act does become law—which is far from clear given Democrats’ hysterical aversion to the Second Amendment and Republicans’ constant foot-dragging.

IF ANTIGUN GROUPS AND LEGISLATORS CHALLENGE THE BILL IN THE EVENT IT BECAME LAW, UNDER WHAT GROUND MIGHT THE BILL BE CHALLENGED?

Congressman Collins’ bill is likely to face stiff opposition and resistance in Congress prior to enactment—assuming it even moves out of Committee—as it would almost certainly be challenged, inter alia, on Constitutional, Tenth Amendment grounds were the bill to become law.What does the Tenth Amendment say? The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. The Tenth Amendment has always been a sticky wicket, especially in matters involving the Second Amendment because the matter of firearms’ regulations and licensing, apart from the regulation and licensing of machine guns, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, and destructive devices, falls, traditionally, within the police powers of a State. Although the federal Government has, in the last several decades, amassed ever more powers unto itself, the fact of the matter is that this Nation is a confederation of independent sovereign States. This idea seems to be lost on people, not least of all in light of the present “Charlottesville” episode—a matter which the Arbalest Quarrel will be writing on in the near future, taking the mainstream news media to task for unleashing a wave of opinionated fake news on the matter, and which the mainstream media is egging the Trump Administration to handle, on the federal level, to support Marxist efforts to erase our Nation’s history, traditions, and core values.Yet, the federal Government cannot indiscriminately, lawfully, run roughshod over the States and the people. In the matter of Congressman Collins’ bill, the Second Amendment Guarantee Act, this creates something of a quandary; for, the bill—as the Congressman articulates through his Press Release—substantially preempts States’ rights on matters of firearms regulations and licensing. The paramount question is this: if Congressman Collins’ bill does become law, can those, who would then seek to mount a Tenth Amendment challenge against it, likely succeed in the Courts? The answer isn’t clear, but, a careful analysis of the bill’s text suggests the bill can survive a Tenth Amendment challenge, as it was carefully drafted to sidestep just such a challenge. Why do we say this? Well, looking at the Tenth Amendment issue, the actual drafter or drafters of the bill made clear the intent of the Act to supersede State regulation of and licensing of firearms; for, Congress would, under the Second Amendment Guarantee Act, be exercising its authority to regulate firearms moving in interstate commerce. It is a categorical, unequivocal principle of law that Congress has plenary power to regulate goods moving in interstate commerce under the Commerce clause. On that matter, no legitimate legal question exists, as the U.S. Supreme Court has made this point abundantly clear.“As we observed in Lopez, [United States v Lopez (1995) 514 U.S. 549, 131 L. Ed. 2d 626, 115 S. Ct. 1624] modern Commerce Clause jurisprudence has ‘identified three broad categories of activity that Congress may regulate under its commerce power.’ 514 U.S. at 558 (citing Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc., 452 U.S. 264, 276-277, 69 L. Ed. 2d 1, 101 S. Ct. 2352 (1981); Perez v. United States, 402 U.S. 146, 150, 28 L. Ed. 2d 686, 91 S. Ct. 1357 (1971)). ‘First, Congress may regulate the use of the channels of interstate commerce.’ 514 U.S. at 558 (citing Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U.S. 241, 256, 85 S. Ct. 348, 13 L. Ed. 2d 258 (1964); United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100, 114, 85 L. Ed. 609, 61 S. Ct. 451 (1941)). ‘Second, Congress is empowered to regulate and protect the instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or persons or things in interstate commerce, even though the threat may come only from intrastate activities.’ 514 U.S. at 558 (citing Shreveport Rate Cases, 234 U.S. 342 (1914); Southern R. Co. v. United States, 222 U.S. 20, 32 S. Ct. 2, 56 L. Ed. 72 (1911); Perez, supra, at 150). ‘Finally, Congress' commerce authority includes the power to regulate those activities having a substantial relation to interstate commerce, . . . i.e., those activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.’ 514 U.S. at 558-559 (citing Jones & Laughlin Steel, supra, at 37). United States v. Morrison, 529 U.S. 598, 609; 120 S Ct. 1740, 1749; 146 L. Ed. 2d 658, 670 (2000).”So, the Second Amendment Guarantee Act would likely survive a Tenth Amendment challenge. But, the strength of the bill, as drafted, also poses a weakness, notwithstanding. For, while State laws, such as New York’s SAFE Act and Maryland’s Firearm Safety Act, cannot, if Collins’ bill is enacted, most likely preclude importation of firearms into their State—including and importantly so-called assault weapons, as importation of such firearms affects interstate commerce and federal law, would, under the Second Amendment Guarantee Act, preempt State law in matters affecting interstate commerce—still, once the firearms are presented in States such as New York and Maryland, it isn’t clear, from the present language of the bill, that firearms’ dealers would be able to sell or trade such “assault weapons” to individuals residing in those States, so long as laws such as the SAFE Act and the Firearm Safety Act are in effect. And, those Acts would still be in effect. For, contrary to Collins’ Press Release, restrictive State gun laws, such as the NY Safe Act, do not, ipso facto, become nugatory. A legal challenge to the constitutionality of New York’s Safe Act and Maryland’s Firearm Safety Act would have to be made. But, once made, it is still unclear whether the Safe Act and the Firearm Safety Act could not prevent transfers of "assault weapons" to individuals, not under disability, within the State, on the ground that regulation of "assault weapons" was being conducted intrastate, thereby not affecting interstate commerce.The question, from the standpoint of those challenging restrictive gun legislation existent in States such as New York, Maryland, California, Hawaii, and others, then becomes whether so-called “assault weapons” that some States wish to ban and, at present, have banned outright, can be sold as “protected” firearms under federal law, once they are in a State, such as New York. If so, that means, then, that States could not legally proscribe the transfer, ownership, and possession of those weapons, try as they might. The issue raised by the Second Amendment Guarantee Act is analogous to the matter pertaining to machine guns, submachine guns, and selective fire weapons, as federal law completely preempts the field concerning those weapons, which means that States have absolutely no legal power to enact laws involving the regulation, licensing, and disposition of those kinds of weapons in their States. Federal law completely preempts the field in matters involving the licensing, regulation, and disposition of machine guns. Language in Section 922 (Unlawful Acts) of Title 18 of the U.S. Code makes clear the intent of Congress to preempt the field, in its entirety, in matters pertaining to the transfer and ownership and possession of machine guns. Paragraph “o” of Section 922 of Title 18 says,“(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to transfer or possess a machinegun.(2)  This subsection does not apply with respect to—(A)  a transfer to or by, or possession by or under the authority of, the United States or any department or agency thereof or a State, or a department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or(B)  any lawful transfer or lawful possession of a machinegun that was lawfully possessed before the date this subsection takes effect [effective May 19, 1986].”Curiously, the expressions, ‘firearm,’ ‘rifle,’ ‘shotgun,’ and ‘machine gun,’ are not defined in Section 922 of Chapter 4 (Firearms) of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, where a person might expect to find them, but in Section 5845 of the Internal Revenue Service Code of the U.S. Code, 26 USCS § 5845. In 26 USCS § 5845(b), “The term ‘machinegun’ means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.”Keep in mind that Congressman Collins’ bill modifies Section 927 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code only, which deals with federal preemption of State law regulation of firearms,  generally, but the bill modifies nothing in Section 922 of Title 18, where one would expect to find an assertion of those particular firearms and firearms’ components that federal law is preempting States from regulating and there is no modification of Section 5845 of Title 26 (Internal Revenue Code) where firearm terminology is specifically defined. And, it is in Section 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code that we see federal preemption of regulation of machine guns; and it is in that same Section of Title 18 that, in 1994, Congress expressly banned ownership and possession of “assault weapons,” nationally—as part of antigun efforts that orchestrated enactment of the “Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.” A national ban on the transfer of and ownership of so-called “assault weapons,” along with a ban on LCMs, was set forth in federal law, subsumed in Section 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code. But inclusion of an “assault weapons” provision of Section 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, which added a paragraph “v” which made it “unlawful for a person to manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon,” and inclusion of a ban on large capacity magazines, set forth in paragraph “w” of Section 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, which made it “unlawful for a person to transfer or possess a large capacity ammunition feeding device,” both expired in September of 2003. Those provisions of Section 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code were never reauthorized, despite subsequent and numerous efforts by antigun politicians to do so.Since the impetus for the Second Amendment Guarantee Act was predicated, obviously and reasonably, on Congressman Collins' laudable desire to negate the impact of the NY Safe Act on the federal level, through the federal preemption—since Albany appears either unwilling or incapable of repealing the NY Safe Act on the State level itself—we can infer that the Second Amendment Guarantee Act was designed principally to preclude States, such as New York, from banning substantial numbers of semiautomatic firearms that’s State antigun legislators, with great fanfare, cast into the category of “assault weapons.”Congressman Collins, a staunch proponent of the Second Amendment, clearly seeks, through enactment of his bill, to provide Americans the converse—the flipside—of efforts to curb exercise of the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment Guarantee Act, as some would argue, proscribes States from regulating all categories of rifle and shotgun, thereby curbing, with one fell swoop, attempts by any State Legislature to impose specific restrictions on the ownership and possession of one large category of firearms, those subsumed under the nomenclature “assault weapons,” and curbing, as well, attempts by any State Legislature to impose size restrictions on ammunition magazines.But, does Congressman Collins’ bill, that modifies Section 927 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, make federal preemption of regulation of assault weapons and other firearms’ components absolutely clear?Once again, as presently enacted Section 927 says:“No provision of this chapter [18 USCS §§ 921 et seq.] shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of the Congress to occupy the field in which such provision operates to the exclusion of the law of any State on the same subject matter, unless there is a direct and positive conflict between such provision and the law of the State so that the two cannot be reconciled or consistently stand together.”Collins’ bill deletes the first word of Section 927—the word, “No,”—and replaces that word with the phrase, “Except as provided,” and, then adds language, establishing, inter alia, that States cannot enact laws pertaining to rifles and shotguns that are “more restrictive. . . with respect to such a rifle or shotgun.” But, and this is an important, but, is such language enough to negate restrictive State firearms’ legislation such as the NY Safe Act? We don’t think so—thus, the failings of the bill, in its current form. For, what do the words, ‘more restrictive with respect to such a rifle or shotgun,’ mean, here?The reader must understand that federal law preemption of firearms, Sections 921, et. seq., of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, is directed essentially to a specific class of firearms, namely machine guns. As made clear in paragraph "o" of Section 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Federal law preempts the field as to those kinds of firearms only, and the language of the law makes federal preemption in matters involving the regulation of machine guns patently clear. Congressman Collins’ bill is silent on the subject of so-called “assault weapons”—which some believe Congressman Collins’ bill, if enacted, would adequately address, and which it must address if it were to do what it purports to do: preclude States from prohibiting the transfer and possession of firearms that New York’s Safe Act and Maryland’s Firearm Safety Act prohibit, expressly, and prohibit outright--"assault weapons."Had Congressman Collins’ bill been more explicit and precise, we believe that language should appear in Section 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code that would work in tandem with the language appearing in Section 927 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code. And, in Section 5845 of Title 26, we would like to see language that clearly and specifically defines the expression 'semiautomatic weapons.' And, in Section 922 of Title 18, we would like to see language that sets forth the lawful transfer of all semiautomatic weapons to individuals, not under disability. The federal preemption Statute, namely, Section 927 of Title 18, as modified in the Second Amendment Guarantee Act would then make federal preemption of the entire field of semiautomatic firearms abundantly and categorically clear. Ideally, language modifying Section 5845 of Title 26, and modifying Sections 922 and 927 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code would establish federal preemption of the entire field of firearms but--and this next point is critical--only to the extent that such modifications serve to enhance the citizen’s right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment. We have no desire to see federal preemption leading to mass registration of firearms and draconian licensing measures on the federal level that we already see much too often on the State level.Ideally, language in the Congressman’s bill would have set forth, in Section 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code explicit protection of all commercial transactions, among all the people, who are not under disability (as categories of disability are set forth with particularity in paragraph “g” of Section 922 of Title 18), involving all firearms—rifles, shotguns and pistols, whatever the configuration or mode of operation of those rifles, shotguns, and pistols; and, further, Collins’ bill should have included language doing away with BATFE licensing of such firearms as well, which, in the case of machine guns, involves a lengthy, time-consuming, expensive and mentally exhaustive process that does nothing to enshrine the Second Amendment right of the people to keep and bear arms, as exercise of that fundamental right is unduly hampered by a multitude of administrative obstacles. Lastly, we would like to see firearms’ licensing at both the State and Federal levels ended. As a parenthetical note, we point out that Congressman Collins’ bill is altogether silent on the matter of handguns which means that, under his bill, handguns would not be subject to federal preemption. States would still be able to impose draconian restrictions on the American citizenry in matters involving handguns. But, why should Americans suffer the indignity of exhaustive, extensive, and expensive firearms’ regulatory hurdles at all?One doesn’t need a license to freely exercise one’s right of free speech—at least at the moment—although leftwing groups—most notoriously, the so-called “ANTIFA,” an anarchist/communist, domestic terrorist group (as much as any other terrorist group that this Country formally recognizes), is doing its best to constrain the right of free expression in this Country. Why must one secure a license to exercise a fundamental natural right of self-defense, as firearms are the best means available to secure one's safety and well-being when threatened and access to firearms, for those not under disability (as set forth in paragraph "g" of Section 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code), is guaranteed under the Second Amendment!Congressman Collins’ modification of Section 927 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, alone, does not, we believe, adequately establish federal preemption of firearms’ regulation because the purpose of Section 927 is simply designed to preclude conflict between State and Federal firearms laws. That is the Section’s only purpose. Its purpose is not to define the kinds of firearms that fall under the auspices of federal preemption—which is addressed, and is meant to be addressed in Section 5845 of Title 26 of the U.S. Code (referred to more specifically as the Internal Revenue Code of the U.S. Code) and does not set forth the manner in which federal preemption of firearms is specifically addressed, as is the case with machine guns, as set forth in paragraph "o" of Section 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code. We also note that the Congressman’s bill, as drafted, uses the permissive ‘may,’ rather than the obligatory ‘shall’ suggesting, then, that States might still regulate firearms, transecting, then, federal preemption, rather than being totally eclipsed by it. Furthermore, as drafted, Congressman Collins’ bill does not adequately establish the kinds of firearms that he intends federal law to preempt. The draft language of the bill simply sets forth that State law “may not” enact a law “that is more restrictive, or impose any penalty, tax, fee, or charge with respect to such a rifle or shotgun or such conduct, in an amount greater, than is provided under Federal law.” But, federal law, Sections 921 et. seq., direct attention to machine guns. Federal law does not address so-called “assault weapons”—semiautomatic weapons and, in New York, revolving cylinder shotguns (which are also defined as 'assault weapons'). Consider: had federal law still imposed federal licensing requirements on “assault weapons,” as it once had, in 1994, then New York’s SAFE Act and Maryland’s Firearm Safety Act, regulating such weapons, likely would have been struck down as unlawful under Section 927 because Federal law had, at that time, in effect, at least, preempted the field as to the regulation of assault weapons and large capacity magazines. What this means is that such restrictive State gun laws, regulating or proscribing ownership and possession of “assault weapons,” at that time, would either have been redundant, if otherwise consistent with federal law, or unlawful, if inconsistent with federal law.

CONCLUSION

The bottom line: In its present form, Congressman Collins’ Second Amendment Guarantee Act (“SAGA”), is a good start toward giving the Second Amendment full effect, as the framers of our Bill of Rights intended. And the Congressman is to be commended for his effort. But the bill, as drafted, leaves, we feel, too much uncertainty, in its present form, to be effective in defeating restrictive, draconian State gun measures like the New York’s Safe Act and Maryland’s Firearm Safety Act, contrary to the opinions of some. More work on the bill is needed. But, such work would, we feel, certainly be a worthwhile endeavor._________________________________________________________________Copyright © 2017 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

NEW YORK TIMES INSINUATES BRONX-LEBANON HOSPITAL SHOOTER, HENRY BELLO, DID NOT ACT ALONE; HE HAD ACCOMPLICES.

NEW YORK TIMES INSINUATES BRONX-LEBANON HOSPITAL SHOOTER, HENRY BELLO, DID NOT ACT ALONE; HE HAD ACCOMPLICES.

NEW YORK TIMES INTIMATES RESPONSIBILITY FOR BRONX-LEBANON HOSPITAL TRAGEDY RESTS WITH THREE PARTIES ALONG WITH HENRY BELLO—ONE OF WHOM IS THE TRUE MASTERMIND BEHIND THE CARNAGE BELLO WROUGHT

By now, anyone who keeps abreast of National news is aware of the tragedy that occurred recently at Bronx Lebanon Hospital in New York City. News accounts point out that a “physician” from Nigeria, Henry Bello, went on a shooting spree after having his limited hospital privileges revoked. Although the Hospital used the appellation “Doctor” to describe Bello’s position with the hospital, Henry Bello did not have the privileges of a medical doctor because Bello did not have a license to practice medicine in New York. The Hospital ultimately terminated Bello’s employment, and it did so for good cause: sexual harassment. Bello, obviously in a rage over the termination of his employment with the Hospital, decided to get even.The matter of sexual harassment, though, ought not have come as a surprise to the Hospital Administrators—which should have given careful thought before they hired Henry Bello—because Bello has a criminal record that includes, among other things, the crime of sexual abuse. Other incidents in his life, as reported through a multitude of news accounts, available to anyone through a simple internet search, point to a mentally unstable person—a person who certainly had no place in a Hospital setting, in the capacity of an employee. Is what had transpired at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital an instance of a theme one sees in a typical Hollywood horror film--i.e., a psychotic patient posing as a staff physician, fooling Hospital staff, visitors, and patients, and then going berserk--killing and injuring people at random, once having fallen into a murderous rage over a perceived wrong. What occurred at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, though, is factual, not a fictional Hollywood script. To make the argument that Hospital Administration hired Henry Bello because the Hospital happened to be short-staffed merely demonstrates desperation substituting for and overriding common-sense. Clearly, there existed, at the Hospital, both security lapses and employee hiring lapses. What actions are Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Administration officials taking to correct these obvious lapses in policy and judgment?Hopefully, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital will give more thought to its hiring practices going forward, since, obviously, the Hospital's past practices are quite sloppy. And, once Hospital Administration reappraises its hiring policies, it should also consider reevaluating its security policies. Bronx-Lebanon Hospital ought to ask how an individual could secret a rifle into the Hospital and why, apparently, the Hospital had no armed security officers at the Hospital’s entrance and at its reception desk. Furthermore, if security officers were present at the Hospital’s reception desk, how is it that none of them managed to discover an assailant walking past them, hiding a bulky weapon—a rifle, not a handgun—under a thin lab coat? In that regard, it appears that this tragic incident was not the first to occur at the Hospital.Mainstream news accounts do not spend time investigating how an individual, once in Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, had sufficient time to murder one person, a physician, and wound several more, stalking the interior of the Hospital. Mainstream media news sources gloss over these matters, at best, or fail to mention them at all. The New York Times, for its part, ultimately turned its attention to and expressed keen interest investigating and reporting on Henry Bello’s accomplices in the crime.

NEW YORK TIMES ALLUDES TO BELLO’S ACCOMPLICES IN THE COMMISSION OF HIS HEINOUS ACTS

You didn’t know that Bello had accomplices, did you? But, it seems that he did, for the New York Times makes abundantly clear Henry Bello did not act alone—that he did not truly act alone—when he went on his murderous shooting rampage at the Hospital, killing one physician and shooting several more people before the carnage ended—with Bello’s principal accomplice turning on Bello, himself.

ABOUT THOSE ACCOMPLICES—

The Times strongly suggests that Henry Bello had one principal accomplice who assisted him in carrying out the multiple crime and two others who abetted him. The name of the principal accomplice—indeed, the master architect of the crimes—is, as can be gleaned from a perusal of a recent NY Times story, none other than what the Times refers to as the "assault weapon," a.k.a., the “assault rifle.”  In a Times story, titled, “Despite Strict Gun Law, Doctor Was Able to Buy Assault Rifle,” published Tuesday, July 4, 2017, Times journalists, Marc Santora and Al Baker, assert that Bello “carried a semiautomatic AM-15, which is Anderson Manufacturing’s version of the AR-15, a civilian rifle, close in design to the M-16.” * A digital version of the story, available to subscribers of the NY Times and non-subscribers of the paper, alike, was posted one day earlier, on July 3, 2017. The digital version of the story is titled slightly differently, through inclusion of the word, ‘Troubled,’ appearing before the word, ‘Doctor’: “Despite Strict Gun Law, Troubled Doctor Was Able to Buy Assault Rifle.” More precisely, the manufacturer of the rifle, Anderson Manufacturing, designates the rifle as the “AM15 Optic Ready .223/5.56 Caliber M4 AR-15 Rifle.”But the New York Times newspaper reporters, Messrs. Santora and Baker, do not, apparently, exhibit an interest in providing the public with those details since it does nothing to move the narrative along--a narrative the newspaper wishes to project on the screen of the American public’s consciousness—namely that guns are evil personified and must, in good conscience, be outlawed.A photograph of the rifle Bello used during his murderous rampage at the Bronx Hospital appears immediately to the left of a photograph of Bello himself on page “A15” of the print edition of the Times newspaper. The photographs carry a strong message. The message is that the fault for the tragedy that occurred rests not merely on Bello but, more particularly, on the rifle.The appearance of the rifle, directly to the left of Bello, in the print edition of the news story graphics—below which the caption reads, in part, “Dr. Bello and the AM-15 that he used,”—is not and should not be considered mere happenstance.Readers of English, as those of other Indo-European language, read, left to right. As advertisers and psychologists know, the eye is trained to emphasize words and graphics that appear to the left of one’s visual gaze and to minimize those that appear to the right of one’s visual gaze, consistent with the way a reader of English or of other Indo-European languages, from an early age, is trained to read. Thus, scanning an image or word is managed and emphasized, “left to right.”By juxtaposing a photograph of the rifle next to and to the left of the photograph of Bello, the editors of the NY Times, responsible for the placement of words and graphics in the Times newspaper, create the impression—whether consciously or not, but probably consciously—that the implement Bello employed in carrying out his crimes—the AM15 Optic Ready .223/5.56 Caliber M4 AR-15 Rifle—is, truly, the real culprit—the main perpetrator, evil doer, and mastermind of the crime—and that Bello, who pulled the trigger, less so—that Bello happened merely to be the toady who pulled the trigger, as commanded by the M4 AR-15 Rifle.Thus, Henry Bello happened simply to be more along for the ride. In this way, the subliminal message conveyed to the reader of the Times story is that both the rifle used to commit horrible crimes and the individual who utilized the rifle are both sentient beings: one of whom is truly evil—the AM15 Optic Ready .223/5.56 Caliber M4 AR-15 Rifle, and the other, who is not, namely, Henry Bello, who is--now, was--simply mentally ill--seriously mentally ill--and therefore, not responsible for his actions. The message: blame the AM15 Optic Ready .223/5.56 Caliber M4 AR-15 Rifle, not the man; place the ill individuals in a mental health facility, and, at once, eradicate firearms.The public is presented with the sad, inevitable, inescapable conclusion, consistent with the subconscious messaging projected, that the rifle, the M4 AR-15 Rifle, is Public Enemy No. 1—a Public enemy beyond redemption, that will ever remain so, but that Henry Bello is not, or, if he had remained alive, not beyond redemption. We are to believe that Henry Bello is—that is to say, was—basically a good man in a bad Karma and that he was brought to do horrific acts—ever more horrific acts because he was a health care provider—through the diabolical machinations of another, the M4 AR-15 Rifle. Had the M4 AR-15 Rifle not turned on Bello, Bello likely would have argued, at trial, in his defense, that the actions of unspeakable savagery, should be ascribed to the M4 AR-15, that made him do it--after all Bello was seriously mentally ill-no question about it--and the Times reporters acknowledge as much. Having commanded Bello to kill himself, rather than to give himself up to the police, the M4 AR-15 has thereupon successfully eliminated the one perpetrator that can effectively cast blame on “him”—“the Rifle”—but the M4 AR-15 Rifle isn’t talking, and isn’t expected ever to cooperate with investigators.Were the Times editors, who created and positioned the graphics that appeared with the print edition of the story, aware of the impression they were creating with the graphics that were used in association with the newsprint edition of the story? Perhaps so, if we give the Times editors credit as psychologists and experts in the field of propaganda.As we know full well, the Times is notorious for creating illusions and allusions about guns: false notions about guns and hints about the “nature” of guns, as if guns have “natures” at all and that they can and do behave like the worst of people amongst us, not unlike any sentient being. The authors of the Times article, Messrs. Santora and Baker, suggest, as well, that there were two additional accomplices to the crimes—those that were not at the scene of  the crimes but who were, nonetheless enablers of the crimes committed by the M4 AR-15 Rifle and by Bello: one, the dealer, who lawfully sold Bello the rifle he used to kill an innocent individual—a medical doctor—and to seriously injure several other innocent people; and, two, the gunsmith—holder of both a valid federal firearms license (“FFL”) and a valid New York State gunsmith license, who lawfully modified the rifle (the “Optic Ready .223/5.56 Caliber M4 AR-15 Rifle”) to conform to New York’s restrictive gun laws that then allowed the dealer to lawfully sell the rifle to an individual, Bello, the killer, who, was not under disability.The Times’ reporters, in a scarcely disguised attempt to implicate and castigate both the gunsmith and the dealer—particularly the dealer, who sold the Rifle to Bello—as we can glean from both the graphic of the dealer’s store and of the dealer’s vehicle--as the graphics, accompanying the story create a distinct and unflattering impression, completely unfair, that the dealer is somewhat of an unsavory individual for being a dealer in firearms at all. To emphasize the point, Messrs. Santora and Baker point to the location of the Gun dealer’s store, adjacent to a used-car dealership, a fact, yes, but a fact completely irrelevant to the story, and yet, at once, suggestive of the idea that a gun dealer and a used car dealer both operate morally dubious and objectionable businesses, not unlike those purveyors of payday loans and pornography.The Times reporters suggest that these two abettors of Bello—the gun dealer and the gunsmith—are definitely morally culpable even if not legally culpable in the matter of Bello’s actions and of the actions of the principal criminal, the M4 AR-15 Rifle—under a philosophical notion and legal theory of causation. In other words, we are to believe that, if the gunsmith had not modified the M4 AR-15 Rifle, to conform to the New York law, the rifle could not have been lawfully sold in the State to average, law-abiding citizens, who are not under disability; and had the dealer who lawfully sold the rifle to Bello, not obtained the rifle from the gunsmith to sell to Bello, then Bello would not have used that rifle to commit the horrific acts he committed. This chain of causation is aptly demonstrated in a child’s nursery rhyme, by "Mother Goose": “This is the House that Jack Built.”What is left unsaid but what is certainly true, though, is that, as long as Bello operated in murderous frenzy mode, he would still have committed his acts of murder and mayhem: if not with the M4 AR-15 Rifle, then, perhaps, with another firearm, or if not with a firearm, then perhaps with a knife, or with a hatchet, or with a bomb, or with anything else at hand. A reasonably intelligent person can devise many effective ways to destroy human life, and destroy human life relatively quickly, if destruction is in the heart and mind of that person.The journalists, Messrs. Santora and Baker are adamant in their insinuation that the gun dealer and the gunsmith ought not to be ignored in the blame game the reporters construct—and Messrs. Santora and Baker do not ignore them, spending substantial time talking about them in their story. Messrs. Santora and Baker apparently consider both the licensed gun dealer and the licensed gunsmith to be participants in Bello’s brutal actions, along with the principal killer, the M4 AR-15 Rifle—passive participants to be sure, but critical players and factors in the equation of violence that occurred, since, as they present in their NY Times story, but for the actions of the gun dealer and the gunsmith, Bello would not have committed the horrific crimes he did commit with the implement he employed—the M4 AR-15 Rifle; and that, but for the very existence of the M4 AR-15 Rifle or any other firearm, there would be no tragedy. But, is that true? Obviously, that statement is not true, and there is no reasonable basis for that tacit conjecture.Bello intended to cause serious harm. If a firearm were not available, he would have found some other implement. No doubt about it--another implement that would have been just as effective--perhaps a butcher knife or an axe. But, Bello did not use a butcher knife or axe to commit horrific crimes. He used a firearm, and since it is firearms that the mainstream media is forever focused on, as the source of many if not most of the major ills in society, the fact that a firearm happened to be utilized by Bello in the death of one individual and in the injury of several others, that fact plays well into the narrative the mainstream media, such as the narrative New York Times newspaper, loves to play into and relishes: namely, that restrictive firearms laws, such as the New York Safe Act, must be made ever more strict. But why is that? What is it about the firearms that creates in the minds of those that perceive “the gun” as the object, the focus of attention when an individual uses it to harm another--the focus of such morbid fascination? The public sees no such focus of attention on the implements employed to harm others when that implement is a knife, or an axe, or an automobile. Mainstream news media sources maintain that “the gun” is an implement that enables a person to kill efficiently, quickly. Yet, a person can in fact kill many people just as efficiently and effectively with a knife, or with an axe, or with an automobile. But, then knives and axes and automobiles are not implements specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. The right of the people to keep and bear arms—referring, specifically to firearms, as the f0unders of a free Republic and the framers of the Constitution intended—is a right specifically, expressly codified in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution—in the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. But, the Second Amendment, as with the entirety of the Constitution, is an “old” document. The mainstream media considers the Second Amendment to be outdated, archaic, anachronistic. Reporters, such as Santora and Baker of the New York Times, suggest as much. They take the position that the Second Amendment may have had import and purpose at one time but that it doesn’t any longer and that the Country would be better off were the Second Amendment to be ignored, and, therefore, de facto repealed. Since, then, from their perspective, the right of the people to keep and bear arms has no legitimate, reasonable purpose in this day and age, no one should have expectations that anyone, not under disability, may legitimately, lawfully exercise that right as one will. So, the reporters, Santora and Baker, cast about looking for those individuals, apart from a lunatic and a killer, Henry Bello, in which to place blame for the horrible tragedy that occurred at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital. Messrs Santora and Baker make much of the fact that the gunsmith that modified the M4 AR-15 Rifle that Bello utilized to kill one person and to seriously injure several others at the Hospital was exercising a loophole through which a banned firearm, called variously, an ‘assault weapon’ and ‘assault rifle’—the former expression which is simply a legal fiction, and the latter expression which, as applied to the M4 AR-15 Rifle, manufactured for the civilian market, not for the military or law enforcement, is a misnomer, and , in either case, the two expressions are not synonyms and therefore are not interchangeable—allowed a banned weapon to be sold legally in New York through modifications to the weapon. The idea conveyed by Messrs. Santora and Baker is that the gunsmith who made the modifications that allowed the M4 AR-15 Rifle to be sold lawfully in New York to those individuals, not under disability, as the expression, ‘disability’ is defined in the U.S. Code, 18 USCS § 922(g), and the dealer who lawfully sold the M4 AR-15 Rifle to Bello, ought to be implicated in the crimes, precisely because they utilized loopholes in the New York Safe Act to avoid the import of the Act. But, this is no different than a professional CPA who lawfully uses loopholes in the Federal Tax Code to benefit his or her client. Now, it is not a reasonable response to say that, after all, a CPA lawfully using perceived loopholes in the Federal Tax Code to benefit a client is not harming and cannot harm another human being while a New York gunsmith and a New York gun dealer that use loopholes in the New York State Penal Code to legally sell an otherwise illegal weapon to a person, not under disability, does allow the purchaser of the weapon potentially at least—and, in the Bronx-Lebanon case, actually—to harm or kill another human being. For, the gunsmith that modified the M4 AR-15 Rifle that permitted the weapon to be sold lawfully in New York, and the gun dealer who lawfully sold the M4 AR-15 Rifle to Henry Bello, did not deviously, insidiously, devise schemes to avoid the import of the SAFE Act. Rather, the SAFE Act itself is a devious, insidious, scheme—a massive loophole—to slither around the import and purport of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In fact, it is highly unlikely that the SAFE Act of New York and similar draconian firearms’ Acts presently in force in other jurisdictions would survive U.S. Supreme Court review. But, then, those legislators and jurists who hold nothing but contempt for the Second Amendment see no reason why they cannot treat the natural right, codified in the Second Amendment, with disdain. So, we see politicians and jurists and journalists voicing vociferous distaste for and utter disdain toward the right of the people to keep and bear arms in the legislation drafted, in the opinions reported, and in the articles written, operating as either express or implied attacks on the sanctity of the natural right codified in the Second Amendment.Messrs. Santora and Baker would likely protest that the NY SAFE Act must go further and more must be done to prevent individuals, not under disability, but who, like Henry Bello, present a danger to self and to others when they have access to firearms. That does present a conundrum, but one no different than the dangers posed by those who have no business being behind the wheel of an automobile. We do not see States constantly imposing new requirements on motorists; but, for all that, the right of the people to drive vehicles on public roads is not expressly established in the Bill of Rights, although one might make the claim that such right might be presumed as existing under the Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as an unenumerated right. But, such a right would not, in any event, be construed, nor should it be construed, as a right of the same magnitude as that right codified in the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution.But, in responding to those who insist that restrictive gun laws must be enacted to prevent those individuals, who, like Henry Bello, present potential problems before the fact, from obtaining firearms, how might that be accomplished? The short answer is that it cannot and ought not be accomplished. The fact is that it is dangerous to presume on past conduct precisely what a person will do in the future. Today, millions of law-abiding citizens, and non-citizens who legally reside in the U.S., possess firearms and pose no danger to themselves or to anyone else. If draconian gun laws are enacted in an attempt to weed out anyone deemed to pose a potential risk to self or others if that person has access to firearms, how do we go about weeding out those individuals? The fact of the matter is that the occasional lunatic, as with the occasional drunkard behind the wheel of a car, will do harm. We know that. But the danger posed is minimal, and minimal as it is, that danger can be reduced yet further--through the arming of more citizens, not disarming them. But if Government is permitted to exert ever more control over the lives of millions of rational, law-abiding citizens in order to successfully weed out the few potential risks, a greater harm to a free Republic and to the rights and liberties codified in the Bill of Rights exists.Neither a State Government nor the federal Government should be permitted to place ever increasing restrictions on the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The risk posed by criminal elements in society and by lunatics is far and away less significant than risks posed to the preservation of our Republic and to the preservation of the rights and liberties of Americans.There exist forces in America today that seek to align our values with those of Western European Nations. Social, political, economic, and philosophical constructs, such as liberal democracy, multiculturalism, bilingualism, neoliberalism, globalization, and open borders are not consistent with the rights and liberties codified in our Nation’s Bill of Rights, and, particularly, those social, political, economic and philosophical constructs are not consistent with our Nation’s Second Amendment. No other Nation on Earth has, within its Constitution, anything remotely like our Second Amendment. For, the right of the people to keep and bear arms exists intrinsically and inextricably in the individual. It is not a privilege bestowed on the citizens or subjects of a Country by Government. That such right of the people to keep and bear arms be recognized as residing in the individual, the Second Amendment must not be toyed with. The NY Safe Act is an abomination. The very language of the Statute betrays the unalienable right codified in the Second Amendment and illustrates Government’s distrust of and contempt for the individual. Further restrictions imposed on the right of the people to keep and bear arms demonstrates a profound disconnect between Government and the people governed. There are mechanisms to deal effectively with people like Henry Bello. The answer, once again, is to arm more people, not to disarm them. Tragedies do happen through misuse of firearms, as with misuse of other objects. But, restrictive gun laws that attempt to foreclose the harm caused by a few, foreclose, as well, and worse, the right of the many to have access to firearms for self-defense. Restrictive gun laws are incompatible with our Nation’s Constitution and with the continuation of our Country as an independent sovereign Nation and free Republic.The journalists, Messrs. Santora and Baker are adamant in their insinuation that the gun dealer and the gunsmith ought not to be ignored in the blame game the reporters construct—and Messrs. Santora and Baker do not ignore them, spending substantial time talking about them in their story. Messrs. Santora and Baker apparently consider both the licensed gun dealer and the licensed gunsmith to be participants in Bello’s brutal actions, along with the principal killer, the the M4 AR-15 Rifle—passive participants to be sure, but critical players and factors in the equation since, but for the actions of the gun dealer and the gunsmith, Bello would not have committed the horrific crimes he did commit with the implement he employed—the M4 AR-15 Rifle; and that, but for the very existence of the M4 AR-15 Rifle or any other firearm, there would be no tragedy. But, there is no basis for that tacit conjecture. Bello intended to cause serious harm. If a firearm were not available, he would have found some other implement. No doubt about it--another implement that would have been just as effective--perhaps a butcher knife or an axe. But, Bello did not use a butcher knife or axe to commit horrific crimes. He used a firearm, and since it is firearms that the mainstream media is forever focused on, as the source of many if not most of the major ills in society, the fact that a firearm happened to be utilized by Bello in the death of one individual and in the injury of several others, that fact plays well into the narrative the mainstream media, such as the New York Times newspaper, loves to play into and relishes: namely, that restrictive firearms laws, such as the New York Safe Act, must be made ever more strict.However, that it was that Henry Bello employed an the M4 AR-15 Rifle to kill one individual and to seriously injure a half dozen others and given the Times' particular fascination with blaming firearms for a multitude of sins in society, it is no surprise that the Times reporters would cast a wide net to condemn both the licensed gunsmith who lawfully modified the M4 AR-15 Rifle to conform to New York State gun laws and the dealer who lawfully sold the modified M4 AR-15 Rifle to Henry Bello. Thus, the Times reporters, Santora and Baker, give some  measure of “credit” for the horrific crimes Bello committed with the M4 AR-15 Rifle to the licensed gun dealer and to the licensed gunsmith  even though the New York gun dealer and the new York gunsmith did not know, and could not have known and certainly would not, willingly, have abetted Bello’s criminal actions had they known of Bello’s murderous inclinations and intentions.

AS RESTRICTIVE AS THE NEW YORK SAFE ACT IS,  NEW YORK TIMES REPORTERS, SANTORA AND BAKER ARGUE THAT THE SAFE ACT ISN’T AS STRICT AS IT NEEDS TO BE—THAT IT IS NOT NEARLY AS RESTRICTIVE AS IT OUGHT TO BE.

The Times reporters strongly suggest that the SAFE Act, strict as it is, isn’t strict enough. They are asserting that the SAFE Act has “loopholes” that need to be closed. But, to make that point, the NY Times plays fast and loose with facts concerning so-called assault weapons and would deny access of firearms to millions of law-abiding New York residents based on the reprehensible actions of a few lunatics and psychopathic criminal elements in society. But should restrictions impacting the sacred right of the people to keep and bear arms be drawn based on the lowest common denominator in society? Or, is the call for ever more restrictive gun laws, ostensibly to deal with lunatics and criminal psychopaths, no more than a convenient, seemingly palatable makeweight? Is the desire of  the gun grabbers for more and more restrictive gun laws not really designed to disarm the tens of millions of law-abiding, sane Americans who seek merely to exercise their personal right of self-defense—with the most effective means available, a firearm—against those who would otherwise find it easy to prey upon them.The gun grabbers might respond that they are not attempting to dispossess the average, honest, law-abiding, rational individual of all weapons—only certain kinds of weapons. But, they inevitably, invariably, make a poor show of it by exhibiting their lack of knowledge of both firearms and of ammunition for firearms. And, that lack of knowledge is considerable. Many examples are found in mainstream media news stories, such as the one that is the subject of this article.The Times consistently, erroneously conflates assault weapons with military assault rifles. One sees this in the very title of the July 4 news article, “Despite Strict Gun Law, Doctor Was Able to Buy Assault Rifle,” —substituting one expression, 'assault rifle,' for the other, 'assault weapon,' without rhyme or reason. But assault rifles and so-called assault weapons are not the same thing. They are not functional equivalents and should not be considered functional equivalents. The expression, ‘assault rifle,’ is a military term of art and refers to selective fire weapons. The expression, ‘assault weapon,’ on the other hand, is not a military term of art; nor is it a term of art in the firearms’ industry.“Assault rifles” are selective fire weapons. Selective fire weapons are weapons that can fire in either semiautomatic mode or full automatic mode, through the incorporation of a selective fire lever or switch on the weapon. Such weapons do not fall under the SAFE Act. They fall under the purview of the National Firearms Act of 1934 that bans certain classes of firearms, including machine guns. So-called “assault weapons” are not military assault rifles because assault weapons are not capable of full auto fire. So-called “assault weapons” are not designed by gun manufacturers for the military or law enforcement markets; only for the civilian market, given specific limitations in their application which limitations make them unsuitable for military or for law enforcement work.Such weapons that may happen to look like military weapons are not military weapons. And appearance does not change the functional nature of the weapon. Consider: an automobile designed to look like a Ferrari that has a typical Toyota Corolla engine under the hood may look exotic and sexy, and to some people, perhaps intimidating, frightening, but one only needs to take the car out for a spin to realize something amiss. On the other hand, a Buick Skylark, manufactured during the 1960s might look relatively tame, but, outfitted with a 350-cubic inch V8 engine, the Skylark declared its power once the driver tapped on the accelerator.Similarly, calling a firearm an ‘assault rifle,’ or using the expression ‘assault weapon’ interchangeably with ‘assault rifle’ when the weapon is capable of semiautomatic operation only does not thereby convert the weapon into a military assault rifle; and designing a weapon to look like an assault rifle, does not an assault rifle make.Functionality, not cosmetics, is critical to—and the key—to a weapon’s performance.

“ASSAULT WEAPONS” ARE NOTHING MORE THAN ORDINARY SEMIAUTOMATIC FIREARMS OUTFITTED MERELY TO LOOK INTIMIDATING TO THE UNEDUCATED. REMOVE THE PISTOL GRIP, FOLDING STOCK, AND HANDGUARD, AND THEN FINISH THE WEAPON IN WALNUT, IN LIEU OF POLYMER AND BLACK STAINLESS STEEL, AND, ABRACADABRA, WHAT DO WE HAVE? NO MORE NOR LESS THAN THE SAME WEAPON FOR CIVILIANS AND NOTHING THAT THE MILITARY OR LAW ENFORCEMENT WOULD BE INTERESTED IN FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OR FOR MILITARY PURPOSES.

The expression, ‘assault weapon,’ isn’t a military term of art; nor is it an industry term. The expression is a political expression, created by antigun groups and utilized as a tool for propaganda. The mainstream media says that such weapons are essentially military weapons, “weapons of war,” as some journalists refer to them in that way. Or, they say that such firearms are “military style weapons,” or that “they are like” military weapons. In fact, phrases such as ‘looks like a military weapon’ or ‘weapons of war’ or ‘military style weapon’ when parsed, don’t mean a damn thing. A weapon either is or isn’t a military weapon—a weapon for military use. The expression, ‘assault weapon,’ is merely a legal fiction to confuse and intimidate the ignorant and unwary.Through that legal fiction antigun legislators create a special category of weapons—a category that includes generally, and almost invariably, many semiautomatic weapons—weapons that, by law, are illegal for the average civilian to own. Semiautomatic weapons that legislators, at their whim, deem to be “assault weapons” are banned unless those weapons happen to be “grandfathered in”  by law. But is that all there is to it? Are those weapons designated as ‘assault weapons’ the only weapons the American public cannot legally own and possess? No; not at all. The problem is that, through time, the gun grabbers seek to place more semiautomatic weapons in the category of banned semiautomatic weapons, until, eventually, all semiautomatic weapons become inextricably linked to “assault weapon” nomenclature. This is by design. This is what the gun grabbers intend to do. For they will not sit contented until all weapons in the hands of civilians are banned.Indeed, the expression ‘assault weapon’ is, now, virtually synonymous with the expression ‘semiautomatic weapon.’ Categorizing this or that weapon as an assault weapon out of whole cloth creates a warrant for ever more weapons to be placed in the domain of banned weapons. Thus, we fall down a slippery slope. But, this is no “slippery slope fallacy." It is an inevitability.Antigun groups and antigun legislators seek, eventually, to ban all semiautomatic weapons. They do this by subsuming ever more weapons and ever more components of weapons under the ‘assault weapon’ designation. Moreover, there is nothing to prevent antigun legislators from subsuming non-semiautomatic firearms under the category, ‘assault weapons,’ too. In fact, we already see this. Consider: Section 37 of the New York Safe Act lays out several definitions of ‘assault weapon': Specific definitions of 'assault weapon' for pistol, rifle, and shotgun. Section 37 is codified in subdivision 22 of Section 265 of the Penal Code of New York.One definition of ‘assault weapon,’ in New York law specifically includes some weapons that aren’t semiautomatic in operation at all. Section 37(D) of the SAFE Act, for example, bans revolving cylinder shotguns, referring to them as “assault weapons” even though revolving cylinder shotguns aren’t semiautomatic in operation.Note, on Governor Cuomo’s New York Safe Act website, he provides an example of a revolving cylinder shotgun, the Armsel Striker-12 Shotgun, via a graphic that, according, to the SAFE Act represents an example of a banned “assault weapon,” because, as the site sets forth, the weapon is “semiautomatic” in operation and has at least one “military characteristic.” The Armsel Striker-12 Shotgun is an assault weapon under the SAFE Act, but the Armsel Striker-12 Shotgun isn’t an assault weapon on the basis of having a military characteristic at all, contrary to the explanation given for including it in the banned 'assault weapon' category. The Armsel Striker-12 Shotgun is designated an ‘assault weapon’ under the SAFE Act precisely and exclusively because it is a revolving cylinder shotgun and, under the SAFE Act, that fact alone is the reason why it is banned as an ‘assault weapon.’ The fact that this shotgun has a “military characteristic” means nothing. It is neither a necessary, nor a sufficient condition for legally ascribing the designation, ‘assault weapon’ to it. Rather, the fact that a shotgun is a revolving cylinder shotgun is both a necessary and sufficient condition for banning it as an assault weapon under the NY Safe Act.But for the existence of Section 37(D) of the SAFE Act, the Armsel Striker-12 Shotgun would not—and in fact could not—legally be designated a banned ‘assault weapon,’ precisely because it isn’t semiautomatic in operation. Why do we say this? We say this because a person must comply with what the law expressly says, and not what one believes the law, erroneously to mean, even if that erroneous belief is held in good faith and even if the person who comes to have a false belief as to which firearm is or is not an assault weapon can point to an official New York State website as the reason for that person’s false belief. For all that, if the Governor expects the public to rely on the accuracy of the very Act that he signed into law, you would think he would make it a point to know what it is that he is talking about and would ascertain that an official New York State website that purports to provide a person with information a person can rely on as true and completely accurate is in fact true and completely accurate.Now, some people might interject that we are quibbling here; for, after all, the Armsel Striker-12 is defined as a banned ‘assault weapon’ under New York law even if the reason provided on the New York State website is not accurate. But, that is sloppy and dangerous thinking. For, suppose, Section 37(D) of the SAFE Act were repealed. In that case, the Armsel Striker-12 Shotgun would be perfectly legal for a person, who is not under disability, to possess in New York. But, given what the NY SAFE Act website says about the weapon, the person who is relying on the website for advice, to comply with the law, would believe that possession of the weapon is prohibited in the State when that would not be the case at all. We say this precisely because the Armsel Striker-12 is not semiautomatic in operation. If Section 37(D) of the Safe Act did not exist, then a shotgun that is not semiautomatic in operation could have any number of so-called military characteristics. Under the New York Safe Act, that shotgun would not be an “assault weapon,” and, then, under New York law, that weapon would not and, thus, could not, legally be banned as an ‘assault weapon’ because the weapon is not, by definition, an ‘assault weapon.’Section 37(D) does proscribe the Armsel Striker-12 but not for the reason the New York State website says. A revolving cylinder shotgun, such as the Armsel Striker-12, represents a special, a unique instance where a weapon is not semiautomatic in operation—which is otherwise a condition precedent for ascribing the designation, ‘assault weapon’ to the firearm, but is defined as an assault weapon due to the fact that it operates through revolving cylinder and that it happens to be a shotgun. Many handguns are designed as revolvers—that is to say, that function through a revolving cylinder, whether double action or single action—and such firearms are not defined as ‘assault weapon.’ So, it all boils down to definition—whatever it is in the feverish mind of the drafter of the legislation.

THE ‘ASSAULT WEAPON’ DESIGNATION IS DEVILISHLY AND CONVENIENTLY CHANGEABLE AS IT CAN MEAN WHATEVER THE LEGISLATOR WISHES FOR IT TO MEAN.

The “assault weapon” attribution is amorphous and nebulous and allows antigun legislators to broaden the scope of banned firearms at will, at their whim—to include anything and everything they wish to include under that designation, as a mark of opprobrium.

NEW YORK TIMES—WHOSE LOGO IS “ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO PRINT”--PLAYS FAST AND LOOSE WITH THE TRUTH ON MATTERS PERTAINING TO FIREARMS.

The NY Times inappropriately uses an opinion piece, that belongs in the Op Ed section of the paper, as a news piece because the paper illustrates clearly and forcefully and unmistakably its vehement distaste for firearms in civilian hands. Value judgments belong in the editorial section, not in the news section, of a newspaper. The Times is not, it is clear, invariably, concerned with truth in reporting—certainly not on matters pertaining to firearms as the paper deliberately confuses the public rather than informs the public.The NY Times reporters, Messrs. Santora and Baker, assert that, “the law [NY SAFE] was also aimed at decreasing the damage a gunman could do by limiting the size of a clip to 10 rounds.” But, then, since Henry Bello "carried three of them," as Messrs. Santora and Baker assert, quoting an unnamed law enforcement official: “as a practical matter, Dr. Bello ‘had his 30 rounds.’” What are the Times reporters getting at here? It’s no secret.The NY Times is making a case, in customary oblique fashion that, since semiautomatic weapons generally use clips, it hardly matters how many rounds a clip may hold. An individual can carry several clips at once, easily loading them into the firearm. Thus, the Times is making a not very subtle suggestion that the NY SAFE Act should be amended to ban semiautomatic weapons, along with their component parts, and ammunition for the weapons, altogether.In the same article, the NY Times’ reporters, Messrs. Santora and Baker, play fast and loose with another point, asserting that, “while the weapon [the AM15, that Bello used], did not have some of the features it might have before the SAFE Act was passed, it was just as powerful.”Messrs. Santora and Baker description here is inaccurate. For it is not the weapon itself but, rather, the .223 cartridge that the weapon, the M4 AR-15 Rifle, happens to be chambered for, that the reporters should have referred to when using the adjective, ‘powerful.’ But, we can excuse them imprecision here on that point, as it is understood that the reporters must be referring to the cartridge rather than the weapon when they assert that the weapon Bello used, in the commission of his crimes of murder and intent to commit murder, is “powerful.”The reporters’ quote, for ostensible credibility, a law enforcement official--albeit unnamed--to buttress the claim that the .223 cartridge is a powerful cartridge. Yet, we do not know who this official is other than that he is in the field of law enforcement. But, crucially, is there anything about this law enforcement official’s background to suggest the official is a ballistics and firearms’ expert? No! There is nothing to suggest that.Messrs. Santora and Baker, assert, further, quoting, apparently the same law enforcement official: “‘They [the gun industry] turned an AR-15’s aiming and firepower into a World War II rifle without the bolt action.” This statement is either erroneous or ambiguous and vague. We must ask: what World War II rifle is this law enforcement official referring to? If he is referring to the standard U.S. Army issue rifle issued to troops during World War II, that rifle would be the M1 .30-06 Garand. But, the M1 .30-06 Garand Rifle was semiautomatic in operation, not bolt action, and it did use a high-power cartridge: the .30-06—a cartridge that is still much in wide use today, especially in hunting rifles, for taking down large game, such as deer, moose, antelope, and bear. If the law enforcement official, whom the Times reporters quote, is in fact referring specifically to a standard bolt-action World War II rifle, then that official may be referring to the Model 98 Mauser Rifle, that the Germans referred to as the Gewehr 98. The Gewehr 98 was chambered for the 7.92 millimeter cartridge—essentially equivalent to the U.S. M1 Garand Rifle that is chambered for the .30-06 cartridge. The Gewehr was a standard issue rifle of German Infantry troops during World War II, and it was manufactured for German troops in several configurations, all of which operated by bolt action. They were not semiautomatic in operation, unlike the U.S. Army’s M1 .30-06 Garand.The official, whom Messrs. Santora and Baker quote, also says, wrapping up the Times article: “It was point and shoot for him [Bello] because he was shooting up close, and the lethality here was enhance by the large rounds—the .223 that’s in that weapon—as opposed to a handgun or something else.”The law enforcement official, whom the Times reporters quote, says the .223 cartridge are “large rounds.” But, is the .223 cartridge a large round? What does the expression “large round” mean? Do firearms experts even use expressions “large round” or “small round” to describe cartridges?

AMMUNITION CARTRIDGE BASICS

To weapons experts, cartridges fall into one of three major categories or groups. One group includes handgun cartridges. These are generally the least powerful cartridges. The second group of cartridges is referred to as intermediate cartridges. The third group of cartridges includes high-power cartridges.Within each group of cartridges, experts describe cartridge characteristics. These characteristics break down into discussions of the case; the primer; the propellant; and the projectile. The expression, ‘large round’ or ‘small round’ is inherently vague and therefore essentially meaningless and arms and ballistics experts do not use those words as technical terms.What can we say, generally about these three different groups of cartridges that is still essentially accurate? Handgun cartridges are the “weakest” in terms of power.** The .223 cartridge, a typical ‘assault rifle’ cartridge, falls in the intermediate cartridge range. There is a reason for this. Assault rifles, in full auto mode are difficult to control. That is one salient reason the military uses a round .223 round cartridge for the rifle instead of a high-power cartridge, such as the ,30-06. Incidentally, the .223 cartridge round is essentially identical to the 5.56 cartridge, although experts may wish to argue the intricacies of the point. The 5.56 cartridge is designated in millimeters and is the standard NATO round in use by the military of NATO Countries today.Note: the Anderson Manufacturing AM15 Optic Ready .223/5.56 Caliber M4 AR-15 Rifle can be chambered for both rounds since, once again, they are essentially identical. But the salient point here is that both rounds are not deemed, in the arms industry, to be “powerful” cartridges. The term, “high-power,” as applied to cartridges, is a term of art. It applies to many cartridges, but not to the .223/5.56. High-Power cartridges have no use in selective-fire assault rifles due to control issues in full auto mode.If a military assault rifle were chambered for a typical high-power cartridge such as the .30-06—the round utilized in the semiautomatic M1 Garand Rifle—such round in an assault rifle would be useless for hand-held full auto fire because a soldier would find the weapon extremely difficult to control. This is one salient reason that the intermediate cartridge—the .223—was developed by the military for the assault rifle. In full auto mode, a soldier can fire his weapon effectively, controllably, with this round. The .223 also is an effective round for hunting small varmints, such as ground hogs. But, it is ineffective for taking down larger game, such as deer. That is why, once again, many large game rifles are chambered for the powerful .30-06 cartridge.The .223 also has distinct advantages for civilian defensive use. The cartridge is frangible. That means it is designed to disintegrate when it comes into contact with a hard surface. A .30-06 cartridge, on the other hand, can easily penetrate hard surfaces. So, if the Times writers, Santora and Baker, through the law enforcement official they quote are claiming the .223 cartridge is large and/or powerful—suggesting that it is on par, say, with the firepower of a typical rifle cartridge used to hunt large game—they are simply wrong and, more to the point, the law enforcement officer they rely on, for technical firearms and ballistics information, is himself wrong--feeding the reporters with false information, regarding the AM15 Optic Ready .223/5.56 Caliber M4 AR-15 Rifle and regarding the .223 cartridge. These reporters should have corroborated the claims made by the official with whom they spoke to ascertain if that official was in fact a firearms or ballistics expert. Obviously, that official doesn’t strike us as a firearms or ballistics expert, given his purported remarks. But, if Messrs. Santora and Baker were to insist that the official whom they quote is in fact a firearms or ballistics expert, the official certainly doesn’t come across as such, to us, predicated on what the official says in the Times article. Messrs. Santora and Baker did not, apparently, corroborate what the law enforcement official, whom they quote, had said. If they did attempt to corroborate the points made by the law enforcement official they quote, they would have most certainly found discrepancies. Perhaps the reporters did find discrepancies, but decided to ignore those discrepancies anyway because the truth would not have fit the narrative they sought to present to the public. But, that would suggest they had little regard for the truth in their presentation. As with the fictional “assault weapon” itself that the reporters, Santora and Baker talk about, the article presented is essentially an Op Ed propaganda piece masked as a news story.The New York Times presents false information pertaining to firearms and ammunition, passes that information off as factually true, and uses that information in an Op Ed piece, itself disguised as a factually true and neutral news article. The newspaper does this to buttress a narrative. It is a narrative which the public has seen many times before and, undoubtedly, will see many times to come. It is this: “assault weapons are weapons of war and ought to be banned outright.” The verbiage may change slightly here and there. But, the message is always the same, droning incessantly on and on again ad nauseum. It is a message intended not to educate the American public, engaging the public’s intellectual faculties, but, rather, one designed to stir the emotions of the public—the “lizard” part of the brain.

WHAT IS THE ENDGAME OF THE NEW YORK TIMES ON THE MATTER OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP AND POSSESSION?

The points made here are not insignificant as they have quite profound social, and political and legal consequences for the right of the people to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and, secondarily, for the credibility of the Times and similar mainstream media news publications. The Times newspaper, in the Santora and Baker news article, is attempting to make the case for restricting the right of the people to keep and bear arms through an ever more restrictive NY Safe Act, but they are making their case through inaccurate statements.Incidentally, hunting rifles that are chambered for the high-power .30-06, do not—presently at least—fall within the domain of ‘assault weapons,’ and are perfectly legal for a person, who is not under disability, to own, in New York. We would like to ask Times reporters, Messrs. Santora and Baker, whether hunting rifles, that are chambered for the .30-06 ought not also to be placed under the category of “assault weapons” since the .30-06 as a high-power cartridge, is certainly much more powerful than the .223, the latter of which is designated as an intermediate cartridge, in terms of power. But, then, we know the answer. A ban on all firearms is the endgame of the gun grabbers. If pressed, Messrs. Santora and Baker would likely admit as much, as would the publisher and editors of the New York Times.

TRUTH IS A RELATIVE CONCEPT FOR MAINSTREAM MEDIA—RELATIVE TO THE NARRATIVE THEY WISH TO CONVEY TO SUSCEPTIBLE MINDS.

For a newspaper that prides itself on the truth, the NY Times demonstrates a considerable lack of it when it comes to an understanding of firearms and ammunition and of firearms’ and ammunition nomenclature. But, then, the NY Times has no desire to inform the reader with facts. The NY Times, as with other mainstream newspapers and like-minded mainstream media outlets, are interested in conveying the same tiresome message—as they always do whenever and wherever a tragedy with firearms occurs. It is that firearms of all sorts should be—must be—banned.The fact that millions of average law-abiding citizens in our Country, unlike those subjects in Australia and those in the nations of Western Europe that comprise the EU, have successfully defended their lives and those of their loved ones against brutal attacks by savage criminals does not, apparently, enter into their equation. But, then, antigun groups, antigun legislators and antigun media types aren’t really concerned about the life of any one individual. They are only interested in the well-being of the hive, of the collective; and that hive—that collective—is well served when it is controlled. Their agenda is not the safeguarding of the Nation’s Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Indeed, it is quite the opposite. They seek to destroy this Country’s heritage, along with the Bill of Rights, as the framers of the Constitution understood it to mean, and that meaning is not to be toyed with.Our history is not to be erased, and rewritten to conform to the New World Order--a deeply troubling phrase that Senator John McCain oddly used, and used several times, one Sunday, on Meet the Press, when interviewed by the network host, Chuck Todd. Curiously, Chuck Todd never once asked the Senator to explain his use of that phrase, and McCain, for his part, although emphasizing the expression through repeated use of it, during the Sunday morning show, never bothered to explicate the bizarre, disturbing phrase himself. Yet, he must have realized that the expression has specific negative connotations and associations for Americans who hold our Free Republic and Constitution dear, and he must have given serious thought to use of the expression but never bothered to explicate it or provide a reason for using it at all during the interview. Our Nation is not a product of nor is it to be reformed and transformed, like so much clay, into something completely alien to our founders’ conception of our Nation as a free Republic. We see the forces that crush our Nation and its citizenry through the insidious ideas manifested in non-American conceptual constructs such as: democratic liberalism, multiculturalism, bilingualism, neoliberalism, and globalization.We, Americans, are not and do not ever wish to be construed as “citizens of the world.” We are citizens of the United States and shall forever remain so. We do not seek nor ever wish to gratuitously open our borders up to everyone.We shall maintain the integrity of our Nation’s borders. We shall maintain our Nation’s singular language: English. We shall use our military first and foremost to protect our Nation’s interests and our Nation’s security. And, we will never compromise the right our framers bequeathed to us in our sacred Second Amendment. This is what we must defend at all costs if our Nation is to survive against the insidious currents that seek to deprive us of our birthright—that seek the very end of the concept of the ‘Nation State.’Mainstream media organizations such as the New York Times orchestrate against the preservation of our Nation—against the idea of a free Republic as our founders intended it. They construe our Bill of Rights in a manner alien to our framers’—alien to the meaning inherent in the rights and liberties codified in the Bill of Rights as the framers drafted it.The Second Amendment has no place in the World as the New York Times and other mainstream media organizations envision it, as they would like it to be, as their overseers, the wealthy, secretive group of so-called “elites”—internationalists and trans-nationalists wish to transform it—to remold it—in a way inapposite to the principals laid down by the fathers’ of our Nation.The mainstream media, echoing the interests, concerns, and aims of their internationalist, trans-nationalist overseers and benefactors do not believe in the right of each individual to be individual, to be left alone. So, they do not believe in natural right of the people to keep and bear arms.The New York Times and other mainstream media organizations, at the behest of their internationalist, trans-nationalist overseers, desire no less than absolute control over the individual. That entails destroying the right of the people to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and that means, as well, destroying the right of the people to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.Firearms in the hands of the American citizenry are an anathema to those who seek absolute control. Americans are perceived by these “elites,” who owe allegiance to no Country—as no more than a mass of bees that make up a hive. Firearms in the hands of the citizenry do not allow for orderly control and, so, firearms must be eliminated from the hands of the citizenry—from the hands of the multitude of worker bees of the hive.The internationalist, trans-nationalist “elites” are not really concerned about gun violence caused by criminals, by gang members, by terrorists, by the occasional lunatic. No! they are concerned about guns in the hands of the average, rational, law-abiding citizen. It is the average, sane, law-abiding citizen that these “elites” truly fear and that fear is reflected in the restrictive gun laws that exist today. That fear is reflected in ever more restrictive gun laws they seek to see enacted. But, these “elites,” through the New York Times and through similar publications and through other mainstream media outlets say that such restrictions on access to guns and ammunition are ultimately for the good of the people. What they really mean, though, is that such gun restrictions operate for the benefit of the “elites” who seek to clamp down on the American citizenry. They seek to enact restrictive gun laws for their own good, clearly to the detriment of the American people. Restrictive gun laws operate as, and are designed to operate as, constraints on the people. Restrictive gun laws do not operate as and are not designed to operate for and never were designed to operate for the good of the American people. But, these internationalist, trans-nationalist “elites”, through their public loudspeakers, the mainstream media, would not, of course, say that.What these so-called “elites” propose for Americans is the end of all that Americans hold precious, the end of all that Americans hold dear: the end of Americans’ sacred rights and liberties, codified in the Nation’s Bill of Rights. The “elites,” see this as necessary. They see this as the way things should be, must be, if their dream of a New World Order is to become a reality. So, they argue that such restrictions and repressions on firearms ownership and possession and such restrictions and repressions on other natural rights and liberties are truly, manifestly, for our own good, of course.What is good, and right, and natural is, they believe, just a matter of perception. Change one’s perceptions and you change one’s reality—you change one’s sense of what is just and proper. And, the forces that crush this Nation and its people into submission intend to do just that: to change our perceptions, to change our attitudes and perceptions toward guns and to change our attitudes and perceptions toward everything else that we hold dear: our history, our heritage, our values. The forces that crush seek to change everything that makes us, uniquely, Americans. The forces that crush seek to change our reality—to change the idea that we, Americans, are unique, and to destroy the notion that our uniqueness is expressed and reflected first and foremost, in the natural right of the people to keep and bear arms.Loss of this one unalienable right—the right of the people to keep and bear arms is sufficient to destroy our Nation’s identity; it is sufficient to effectively disable and disassemble the U.S. Constitution; it is sufficient to break our Nation’s back and our Nation’s spirit. That is what the gun grabbers want. That is what they seek. That is what they have worked and continue to work relentlessly, unceasingly, consistently, and strenuously toward.____________________________*The prefix, “AM,” refers to the manufacturer, Anderson Manufacturing. The prototypical rifle, the “AR-15,” with the prefix, ‘AR,’ does not denote ‘Assault Rifle,’ contrary to what some people might think. Rather the prefix, “AR,” refers, to the manufacturer of that semiautomatic rifle, “ArmaLite.” The original “AR-15” “Assault Rifle,” prototype became the standard arm for the U.S. Army foot soldier during the Vietnam War.The U.S. Army reluctantly adopted the M16 assault rifle as the standard infantry rifle in lieu of the M14 selective-fire rifle it had much preferred—as a replacement for the World War II M1 Garand rifle, that, in design, the M14 superficially resembled.The military M16 “Assault Rifle” had several variants and was chambered for the 5.56 millimeter cartridge. The 5.56 millimeter NATO round, is a cartridge essentially identical to the 2.23 caliber cartridge round that many semiautomatic rifles, manufactured for the civilian market, are chambered for—semiautomatic rifles that continue to be described by the mainstream media, inaccurately, as military “assault rifles” or, otherwise, for political propaganda purposes, described as “assault weapons”—a fictional phrase that has no recognized meaning in military or firearms industry argot. Often the two expressions, ‘assault rifle’ and ‘assault weapon,’ are used interchangeably by the mainstream media, antigun groups, and antigun politicians when talking about semiautomatic rifles manufactured for the civilian market. The two expressions are not synonymous, and the use of the two expressions, interchangeably by mainstream news organizations, does nothing to enlighten the public, and does much to illustrate the ineptitude and sloppiness of journalists and commentators when reporting news.**There do exist handguns chambered for .50 caliber cartridges and there even exist a few exotic handguns chambered for the .60 caliber cartridge —the latter of which are found in atypical, novelty handguns. Handguns that are chambered for the .60 caliber "nitro express" cartridge likely are not designed to be fired at all—given, arguably, the sheer difficulty, if not virtual impossibility, for most individuals to be able to hold onto the weapon, once having fired it, let alone maintaining the ability to shoot such weapons accurately. Such handguns certainly do not have utility in any common real world application, whether for law enforcement, for the military, for hunting or for self-defense. More likely, handguns chambered for such cartridges are "show pieces"--curiosities only, designed for the collector--to be showcased in gun collection displays but not actually to be used. Both cartridges, the .50 caliber and .60 caliber, are more powerful—much more powerful than the intermediate .223 cartridge. But, these cartridge exceptions, in handgun cartridges, do not belie the general rule regarding three major categories of cartridges: handgun rounds (generally, the least powerful cartridge rounds); intermediate assault rifle rounds; and high-power rifle or machine gun (the most powerful) rounds. Even so, the American public should keep in mind that handguns or rifles chambered for the .50 caliber cartridge or for the exotic .60 caliber "nitro express" handgun cartridge round, are not, and never were, designed, and, sensibly, never will be manufactured for use in hand-held full auto fire weapons be those weapons, selective fire assault rifles in full auto mode, or full auto only submachine guns.The .223/5.56 NATO cartridge round was specifically designed for selective fire “assault rifles,” enabling the user of those rifles to fire a round, controllably, in full auto mode. Were a high-power rifle round like the .30-06 caliber, or .50 caliber cartridge chambered for the assault rifle would render the assault rifle uncontrollable in full auto mode. Moreover, for a soldier to have to carry a substantial number of high-power rifle .30-06 caliber cartridge rounds or a substantial number of .50 caliber cartridge rounds would be unduly burdensome due to weight considerations and, too, would lessen the number of rounds the foot soldier might otherwise be able to carry on his person. ______________________________________________Copyright © 2017 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

GUN LAWS THAT DO NOT MAKE SENSE, LITERALLY!

A Critical Look at California's New 'Assault Weapons' Bill and a Comparison and Contrast with New York's 'Assault Weapons' Laws

California is playing the child’s game of “leapfrog” with New York and with other States that enact draconian firearms laws. What do we mean by that? Just this: as one State Legislature drafts and enacts ever more draconian gun laws, the other States follow suit and attempt to do the first State, one better. Let’s see how this plays out.The New York State Legislature in Albany, NY, rewrote the law defining the expression ‘assault weapon.’ The Safe Act became effective on January 15, 2013 and was the de facto model for new antigun laws around the Country. The Safe Act was also the de facto model for Dianne Feinstein’s failed effort to enact a new federal assault weapons’ ban and ammunition ban in 2013. Fortunately, Republicans in Congress and the NRA stopped a federal “Safe Act” in its tracks.The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting incident that occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, was the impetus for – actually the pretext for – implementation of new and highly restrictive gun and ammunition bans.Notwithstanding oppressive gun restrictions in New York, the Safe Act further encroached on Americans' Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, adding new restrictive provisions to the New York Penal Code and to other Statutory Sections of the Consolidated Laws of New York and making existing gun provisions even harsher.The drafters of the Safe Act aimed to ban ever more types of guns. To make guns bans palatable to the public, the drafters of the Safe Act continued, through the artifice of rhetoric to create the illusion that some firearms were evil. They called these firearms assault weapons.Once a firearm is defined as an ‘assault weapon,’ that firearm becomes, at the stroke of a pen, a “banned weapon.” Under present New York law, specifically, NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(A) and (C), firearms, namely, rifles and pistols that, one, are semiautomatic in operation, two, can accept a detachable magazine and – if the first two necessary conditions are met – then three, if those firearms have at least one of a specific set of features as set forth in NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(A) or (C). If all three conditions are met, then, under New York law, those rifles and pistols are, by virtue of a legal fiction, ‘assault weapons,’ and are, therefore, banned weapons.Under NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(B), Shotguns that are, one, semiautomatic in operation and, two, have at least one of a particular set of characteristics as set forth in NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(B) are also ‘assault weapons.’ And the New York Safe Act adds a fourth category of “assault weapons.” Under NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(D), Shotguns that utilize a revolving cylinder are, by definition, also ‘assault weapons’ and therefore banned weapons. We have discussed the legal fiction of 'assault weapons' as constructed by the drafters of the New York Safe Act, at length, in previous articles that appear on this site. See in particular: "Cuomo's NY Safe Act and the notion of 'assault weapon;'" "NY Safe: Looking at the 'assault weapon;'" and, "NY Safe: 'assault weapon' definitions.'"At the moment, typical handguns that utilize a revolving cylinder, and rifles that utilize a revolving cylinder – rare as revolving cylinder rifles  are – are not, under present New York law, defined as ‘assault weapons;’ but who can say what the future holds if antigun legislators, like New York Senator Jeffrey D. Klein, continue to control the politics of gun ownership and possession, and draft ever more onerous and heinous gun laws for law-abiding Americans who happen to reside in New York.Let us now compare the definitions for rifles that are also ‘assault weapons,’ as those definitions appear in both the California Penal Code and the New York Penal Code, because CA A.B. 1663, throws a wrench into the mix, specifically in respect to rifles.In the New York Penal Code rifles that are also assault weapons must, as we have said, be semiautomatic in operation and also be capable of accepting a detachable magazine. These are necessary conditions that must be fulfilled before a weapon can be considered an ‘assault weapon’ in New York. If and only if a rifle is semiautomatic in operation and is capable of accepting a detachable magazine, then NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(A), says that we look for additional characteristics that a rifle might have if it is to be deemed an ‘assault weapon’ under New York law. So, then, if the rifle has at least one additional characteristic, for example, a second handgrip, or a flash suppressor, or a folding or telescoping stock, or a bayonet mount, then the rifle is, under, NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(A), an assault weapon. Otherwise it isn’t.Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(1), at the moment, reads much like NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(A). Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(1) sets forth three requirements for rifles that are also assault weapons, two, of which, like New York, are necessary conditions that must be fulfilled: one, the rifle must be centerfire semiautomatic in operation, and two, the rifle must have the capacity to accept a detachable magazine. If those necessary conditions are met, then we look to see if the rifle has at least one of several listed features such as, inter alia, a pistol grip, a flash suppressor, a folding or telescoping stock, or thumbhole stock. If these three conditions are met, the firearm in question is an “assault weapon” and, therefore, a banned weapon under California law. Thus, we see that Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(1), as it presently reads, mirrors NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(A) in every critical respect.Even before CA A.B. 1663 was drafted, California “did New York one better.” Under present California law, rifles that are also assault weapons include, under Cal Pen Code 30515(a)(2), “A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.” Recall, under New York law, rifles that are also assault weapons must be semiautomatic in operation and be capable of accepting a detachable magazine only. So, under present New York law, no rifle is an assault weapon that happens to have a non-detachable, i.e., fixed, magazine. A rifle might have a magazine that can hold 100 rounds of ammunition. If that magazine is fixed to the rifle, that is to say, if that magazine cannot be readily detached from the body of the rifle, the rifle is not an ‘assault weapon’ under present New York law.In California, on the other hand, under Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(2), a rifle that has a fixed magazine that is capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition is an ‘assault weapon.’ So, in the California Penal Code, unlike the New York Penal Code, a semiautomatic rifle may, under the appropriate circumstances, based on definition, be deemed an assault weapon if the rifle utilizes either a detachable or fixed ammunition magazine.Now, what would CA A.B. 1663 do, if enacted? CA A.B. 1663 modifies Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(1), which would be amended to read: a rifle is an assault weapon if that weapon is a “semiautomatic centerfire rifle that does not have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept no more than 10 rounds.” Do you understand the meaning of that sentence? Read it again. In fact, read it several times, but don’t be upset if you continue to scratch your head in bewilderment as to the meaning of that sentence; for, the meaning of that sentence isn’t clear to us either.The California legislators, who drafted that sentence – making liberal use of negatives – apparently derive pleasure from torturing the English language as much as they enjoy torturing those California residents and U.S. citizens who choose to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms. Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(1), as drafted by the Legislature, is inherently ambiguous. That was obviously the intention of its drafters.Under one interpretation – a more conservative interpretation – a rifle is an assault weapon, in California, if it is a centerfire semiautomatic weapon that can accept a detachable magazine that is capable of holding more than ten rounds. However, under a liberal interpretation of the ambiguous sentence, a centerfire semiautomatic rifle is an assault weapon that can accept a detachable magazine, regardless of the number of rounds of ammunition the magazine might be capable of holding. An argument can be made for either interpretation and, if CA A.B. 1663 is enacted, and thereafter challenged, it will take a court of law to decide which interpretation is correct. You will note, too, something else about the definition of ‘assault weapon’ as promulgated in the revised Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(1). In the revised Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(1), there is something missing. In the original version of that statutory section, a centerfire semiautomatic rifle is not deemed to be an assault weapon, unless it have at least one of several enumerated characteristics. That requirement has been eliminated in the revision.Essentially, the new Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(1) – if CA A.B. 1663 is enacted and codified into law – is the obverse of Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(2), which reads that a rifle is an assault weapon if it is “A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.” But, the idea here is that, under a liberal interpretation of the ambiguous sentence – as the new Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(1) reads – the number of rounds that a detachable magazine can hold is not decisive or even relevant to the issue whether a centerfire semiautomatic rifle is an assault weapon. So long as a rifle is capable of accepting a detachable  magazine – even if the magazine is capable of holding only one round – that will be sufficient to transform the rifle into an assault weapon, and, therefore, a banned weapon, in California.Let’s distill all of this. So, if CA A.B. 1663, becomes law a rifle is also an assault weapon, and therefore, a banned weapon in California under two scenarios:Under Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(1), as amended by CA A.B. 1663, a rifle is an assault weapon if it is a centerfire, semiautomatic, and it is capable of accepting a detachable magazine, regardless of the number of rounds that the rifle’s detachable magazine may hold (under a liberal interpretation of the amended statute). And, under Cal Pen Code § 30515(a)(2) – the language which remains unchanged – a rifle is an assault weapon if it is a centerfire, semiautomatic and has a fixed magazine that is capable of holding more than ten rounds.In the continuing game of “leapfrog,” antigun forces in the New York Legislature may be, even now, drafting new legislation, redefining and refining the definition of ‘assault weapon’ to “improve upon” California’s 'assault weapons' fetish. If right of the American people to keep and bear arms, as embodied in the Second Amendment, is to survive in the 21^st Century, it is incumbent upon each American to defend that right against the forces intent on destroying it, just as the Second Amendment was, itself, meant to defend the sanctity of each individual law-abiding American. The Second Amendment protects us so long as we protect it. [separator type="medium" style="normal" align="left"margin-bottom="25" margin_top="5"] Copyright © 2015 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

TRANSFERRING AMMUNITION MAGAZINES IN NEW YORK: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

PART 5: Transferring Ammunition Feeding Devices (magazines); Transferring Ammunition; Bequests Of Assault Weapons To Police Officers

SUBPART 1: Transferring Ammunition Magazines In New York: What You Need To Know

Introductory Remarks:

New York gun owners have many questions concerning gun transfers in New York, whether through sales or bequests to heirs. This is not a simple matter. We have dealt with this at length in a previous article on gun transfers. But there is much more to discuss, and we hope to get back to that issue in the foreseeable future. However, one aspect of gun transfers is rarely if ever discussed and that has to do with an important component of many firearms, predominately with semiautomatic pistols: the ammunition magazine. It may seem odd that the transfer of ammunition magazines requires discussion at all. After all, unless one is a licensed gun dealer, the notion of transferring parts of guns – gun barrels, gun grips, triggers, hammers, and so forth – makes little sense. The average consumer is interested in purchasing an entire firearm, not a melange of so many separate parts. And, an ammunition feeding device – generally an ammunition magazine – is certainly a critical part of a semiautomatic handgun. A semiautomatic handgun cannot function without one. And, one must be perplexed that a discussion related to the transfer of ammunition feeding devices, apart from a complete weapon’s system, should be necessary at all. But it is. This topic is not only meaningful, it is, in fact, necessary in the context of the New York Safe Act if one is to have a full and complete understanding of the awful consequences of the Safe Act in matters of gun transfers. And that says quite a lot about the very queer nature of the Safe Act.You will realize just how queer -- just how bizarre -- the Safe Act is once you have completed reading what we have to say here.We have divided Part 5, the last part of this multi-series Article on the issue of private property rights and bequests of firearms in New York, into 3 Subparts. Subpart 1 deals with transfers of ‘large capacity ammunition feeding devices.’Now, what we have to say here applies to all transfers of large capacity ammunition feeding devices. But, apropos of this comprehensive multi-series Article, we are primarily concerned with transfers of guns by way of testamentary bequests by gun owners to their heirs. For, nothing subverts one's private property interest in his or her firearms more than the idea that one's last will and testament should be denied effect because some powerful individuals in Government have a personal distaste for firearms and desire to use that power to enact laws that thwart others Constitutional right and interest in their own private property.Subpart 2 of this multi-series Article deals with the transfer of ammunition by bequest to heirs. And Subpart 3 deals, in pertinent part, with the issue of  transfers and -- more particularly -- bequests of assault weapons to heirs who are active duty police officers or retired police officers, and who, therefore, may not be considered “ordinary” New York residents and citizens of the United States, at least where gun rights are at stake.

HOW THE NEW YORK SAFE ACT TREATS AMMUNITION FEEDING DEVICES

An ‘ammunition feeding device’ (whether “large” or “small” – which is a subjective matter unless otherwise defined with particularity in the law) means, typically, an ammunition magazine. Now, it may seem odd to have to talk about transfers of ammunition magazines at all. Ammunition feeding devices, including ammunition magazines, are, after all, an essential and integral component of semiautomatic handguns and they are an essential and integral component of many rifles and of a few shotguns as well.A testator bequeathing a semiautomatic handgun to an heir wouldn’t reasonably think of bequeathing the weapon without the weapon’s accompanying ammunition magazine. And, the heir, as the intended recipient of a weapon, would certainly expect to receive all component parts of that weapon. Otherwise, obviously, the firearm is useless as a firearm, so that, if it were to have any use at all as a defensive weapon, one might consider using it as a club -- an expensive one at that -- and nothing more.Why, then, are we discussing the transfer of ammunition feeding devices at all since such devices are clearly a critical component of many small arms? We are doing so because the New York Safe Act treats ammunition feeding devices as a separate component of weapons – a very odd idea to contemplate but one that must be contemplated nonetheless, and appropriately dealt with.Treating a weapon and the components of a weapon as two distinct things creates an odd set of circumstances for the law-abiding New York gun owner and odd issues arise from those circumstances that have to be resolved if the New York gun owner is to hope to avoid incurring serious misdemeanor charges. And that point gets to the crux of the problem with the New York Safe Act: You may have a weapon the Safe Act doesn’t ban, but you may also have, at one and the same time, the weapon’s ammunition feeding device that the Safe Act does ban. This isn't mere supposition, as you shall see.Again, keep in mind: we are not talking here about weapons banned by the Safe Act. The Safe Act does, of course, ban outright weapons it defines as assault weapons. That, we all know. A New York resident and citizen of the United States cannot currently own -- that is to say, cannot at the present time own lawfully -- a weapon defined as an ‘assault weapon’ under the New York Safe Act unless that weapon was grandfathered in and timely registered as an assault weapon. The expression ‘grandfathered in’ means here that a New York resident who lawfully came into possession of an ‘assault weapon’ prior to enactment of the New York Safe Act, on January 15, 2013, may continue, lawfully, to possess the assault weapon, subsequent to the effective date of enactment of the Safe Act, namely, subsequent to January 15, 2013, so long as that gun owner timely and properly, registered it, namely, so long as that gun owner had, in fact, timely and properly registered it on or before April 15, 2014, as that date has come and gone. If the owner of an assault weapon has not timely and properly registered it on or before April 15, 2014, that gun owner is in unlawful possession of a banned firearm. But, assuming the original owner of a firearm defined as an assault weapon under the Safe Act -- lawfully possessed that weapon prior to the date of enactment of the NY Safe Act -- and, assuming, further, that the original owner of the assault weapon did in fact timely and properly register it so that, at this particular point in time, the gun owner is, in fact, in lawful possession of a firearm that is otherwise banned by the Safe Act, and, so, can continue to lawfully possess that assault weapon, still, that owner cannot, unfortunately, transfer the weapon to his or her heirs even if those heirs are otherwise eligible to own and possess firearms, unless the heirs are exempted from the ban on possession of assault weapons. Those New York residents who are exempted from the ban on possession of assault weapons include licensed New York gun dealers -- a very small number of New York residents to be sure.Moreover, the effect of allowing the original owners of assault weapons alone to continue to own assault weapons so long as they wish, or, otherwise, so long as they live -- means that ownership of and possession of those weapons cannot extend to the original owners' heirs. The drafters of the Safe Act undoubtedly intended to preclude the lawful ownership and possession of assault weapons in New York to extend beyond the original, first generation owners of them. The goal of proponents of the Safe Act is, then, to bring about the extinction of weapons defined as assault weapons from the landscape of New York within 50 years or so -- after the last lawful New York resident and owner of an assault weapon dies and the weapon or weapons is surrendered to the appropriate Government official for transfer to someone out-of-State or, otherwise, is surrendered to the appropriate Government official for no other purpose than for destruction.Similarly, a New York resident and gun owner who lawfully came into possession of a “large capacity ammunition feeding device” prior to enactment of the Safe Act may continue to possess that device, but he or she cannot lawfully transfer it to another law-abiding eligible New York resident in the State, including an heir, unless, once again, the heir is also a licensed gun dealer or falls under another exemption. As with firearms defined as assault weapons, the goal of proponents of the Safe Act is to bring about the extinction of large capacity ammunition feeding devices from the landscape of New York within 50 years or so -- once again, after the last lawful owner of such a device dies.

LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE APPLICABLE NY SAFE LAWS

Section 37(H) of the New York Safe Act, as codified in Subdivision 22 of Section 265.00 of the Penal Code, namely, NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(h) bans the transfer of large capacity ammunition feeding devices. NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(h) says: “Any weapon . . . and any large capacity ammunition feeding device that was legally possessed by an individual prior to the enactment of the chapter of the laws of two thousand thirteen which added this paragraph, may only be sold to, exchanged with or disposed of to a purchaser authorized to possess such weapons or to  an individual or entity outside of the state provided that any such transfer to an individual or entity outside of the state must be reported to the entity wherein the weapon is registered within seventy-two hours of such transfer. An individual who transfers any such weapon or large capacity ammunition device to an individual inside New York state or without complying with the provisions of this paragraph shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor unless such large capacity ammunition feeding device, the possession of which is made illegal by the chapter of the laws of two thousand thirteen which added this paragraph, is transferred within one year of the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand thirteen which added this paragraph.” Now, NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22) talks specifically about banned weapons, namely weapons defined as assault weapons under Section 37(A through F) of the New York Safe Act, as codified in Subdivision 22(a through f) of Section 265.00 of the Penal Code, namely, NY CLS Penal § 265.00(a through f); and those Sections of the Safe Act must be read in conjunction with Section 37(H) of the Safe Act as codified in NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(h). Be advised, failure to comply with these obligatory Sections will subject the New York gun owner to a Class A misdemeanor charge. And, if that happens, the gun owner will lose his or her handgun license and, where applicable, namely, in New York City, the gun owner will lose his or her rifle and shotgun permit as well. That means the gun owner will can no longer lawfully own and possess firearms in New York.But, we are not discussing here the ramifications of the New York Safe Act on those who are in lawful possession of assault weapons, who wish to lawfully dispose of them. The weapons we are talking about here are permitted weapons under the Safe Act. But, many ammunition feeding devices – specifically, “large capacity ammunition feeding devices” manufactured with the weapon, are not. Those devices are banned under the Safe Act. How do we know this? We know this because the NY Safe Act says so. The Safe Act, as we have seen, specifically, in Section 37(H) of the New York Safe Act, as codified in Subdivision 22 of Section 265 of the Penal Code, namely, NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(h), explicitly and categorically tells the gun owner that “large capacity ammunition feeding devices” are banned in New York.The Safe Act incongruously views a weapon and the ammunition feeding device as two separate devices – not as an integrated whole weapon. We explain. But, first:

WHAT IS A LARGE CAPACITY AMMUNITION FEEDING DEVICE?

A large capacity ammunition feeding device – typically an ammunition magazine – is a legal fiction, just as the notion of an ‘assault weapon’ is a legal fiction. A large capacity ammunition feeding device is a legal fiction created by the drafters of the Safe Act. The drafters of the Safe Act, obviously enough, created this legal fiction to further whittle down the number and kinds of weapons a gun owner might lawfully own and possess.The New York Safe Act defines a ‘large capacity ammunition feeding device’ in Section 38 of the New York Safe Act. Section 38 of the Safe Act is codified in subdivision 23 of Section 265.00 of the Penal Code of New York, namely, NY CLS Penal § 265.00(23). NY CLS Penal § 265.00(23) sets forth, in critical part: “Large capacity ammunition feeding device means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that . . . has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than ten rounds of ammunition.” What does this Section of the New York Safe Act tell us? Section 38 of the Safe Act as codified in subdivision 23 of Section 265.00 of the Penal Code of New York, namely, NY CLS Penal § 265.00(23), tells us that an ammunition feeding device that is capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition is, by law, a banned and, therefore, illegal device. Granted, a large capacity ammunition feeding device isn’t a weapon itself; it is simply a component of a weapon – a critical component to be sure, but a critical and banned component nonetheless.Now, be aware what NY CLS Penal § 265.00(23) does not say. NY CLS Penal § 265.00(23) does not say – nor does it suggest – that it is legal to own and possess a large capacity ammunition feeding device so long as a person keeps fewer than 10 rounds in it. No. The Safe Act makes abundantly clear -- and it is enough -- that merely possessing a “large capacity ammunition feeding device” is illegal if the gun owner happens to gain possession of it subsequent to enactment of the Safe Act. So, that large capacity ammunition feeding device can be empty. Your possession of it under NY Safe is still illegal, whether the magazine is completely filled with cartridges, partially filled with ammunition, or is, simply, completely empty.But, is there such a thing, under New York law, of a weapon that is legal to own – that isn’t also an assault weapon under the Act – but comprises a component part that is itself illegal? The answer is: Yes!Now, to prove our point, let’s consider a firearm that a New York resident and citizen of the United States can lawfully possess and transfer to eligible recipients in New York – including, then, a weapon that a gun owner can transfer lawfully to one’s eligible heirs – but one that incorporates a large capacity ammunition feeding device that cannot be lawfully transferred to a New York resident and citizen of the United States, unless, again, that New York resident and U.S. citizen falls within a specific exemption in the law.

AN EXAMPLE OF A FIREARM PERMITTED UNDER THE NY SAFE ACT THAT INCLUDES AN AMMUNITION FEEDING DEVICE THAT IS NOT PERMITTED UNDER THE SAFE ACT

One good example of a semiautomatic handgun that the Safe Act does not ban is the popular Glock 17. As the name suggests, the Glock 17 has a magazine that holds 17 rounds of 9x9mm cartridges.The Glock 17, sans the 17 round magazine, is perfectly legal for an eligible New York resident and U.S. citizen to own and possess. That means the Glock 17 is not defined as an assault weapon under the Safe Act. How do we know that? Well, let’s take a look at what the New York Safe Act says.Section 37(C) of the Safe Act is codified in subdivision 22 of Section 265.00(22)(c) of the Penal Code of New York, namely, NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(c).  That Section, NY CLS Penal § 265.00(22)(c), says, “Assault weapon” “means a semiautomatic pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following characteristics: (i) a folding or telescoping stock; (ii) a thumbhole stock; (iii) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand; (iv) capacity to accept an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip; (v) a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer; (vi) a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the non-trigger hand without being burned; (vii) a manufactured weight of fifty ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded; or (viii) a semiautomatic version of an automatic rifle, shotgun or firearm.” Let's first look at and apply the above definition of an assault weapon. The definition of a handgun that is also an assault weapon under the Safe Act is also the test you use to determine whether your own handgun is also an assault weapon and therefore a banned weapon under the Act. So, let’s see if a stock Glock 17 that is manufactured to be sold in the civilian market is an assault weapon under the Safe Act.According to the manufacturer’s website, a stock Glock 17 weighs 25.06 ounces unloaded. It does not have a folding or telescoping stock; nor does it have a thumbhole stock. It does not have a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand. It does not have the capacity to accept an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip. Moreover, a stock Glock 17 does not have a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer. Lastly, a stock Glock 17 that is designed for the civilian market is not sensibly a semiautomatic version of an automatic rifle, shotgun or firearm, whatever that means.So, we can conclude with reasonable certainty, that a stock Glock 17 as designed for the civilian market is not an assault weapon under the Safe Act. An eligible New York resident and U.S. citizen can therefore lawfully own one. And you will note, there is nothing in the definition of a pistol that is also an assault weapon that talks about magazine capacity. But, Section 38 of the Safe Act as codified in subdivision 23 of Section 265.00 of the Penal Code of New York creates a problem for the New York gun owner who lawfully owns and possesses a Glock 17 and wishes to transfer the gun to another eligible New York resident and citizen of the United States. For, NY CLS Penal § 265.00(23) says that it is unlawful for a New York resident to lawfully possess an ammunition feeding device that is capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition if that eligible New York resident happened to come into possession of that ammunition feeding device after enactment of the Safe Act.What all this boils down to is this: If you are a New York resident and U.S. citizen that lawfully came into possession of a stock Glock 17 semiautomatic pistol with, reasonably enough, the stock ammunition magazine that was manufactured with and for the Glock 17, prior to enactment of the New York Safe Act, and you wish to transfer that Glock 17 semiautomatic pistol to another eligible New York resident and citizen of the United States, you are permitted, under the Safe Act, to do so and that includes, of course, a transfer of the weapon to your heir by testamentary bequest.  But, what you cannot do– what you are absolutely forbidden from doing – is attempt to transfer to an otherwise eligible New York resident and U.S. citizen, including, particularly, your eligible heir who also resides in New York – the 17 round capacity ammunition magazine that came with the weapon, unless that New York resident is also a licensed New York gun dealer or is otherwise exempted from the applicable provisions of the Safe Act.Again, you can only lawfully transfer that 10+ ammunition magazine to a New York resident and U.S. citizen who happens to be exempted from the applicable provisions of the Safe Act, such as a New York licensed gun dealer, or you can lawfully transfer that 10+ round capacity ammunition magazine to an eligible recipient who resides outside the jurisdiction of New York, or you can simply surrender that device to the appropriate official for destruction.As you can see, the New York Safe Act is horribly convoluted, ill-conceived, poorly drafted, and wrongly enacted. That the New York Safe Act exists and operates in New York at all says much about some – all too many – New York Legislators’ and Government Officials’ who wanted it, who campaigned for it, and who show, even to this present moment in time, a marked contempt for and condescending attitude toward New York residents and citizens of the United States who wish merely to exercise their sacred Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.In Subpart 2 of Part 5 of this multi-part series Article, that we will present to you shortly, we look at the issue of ammunition. Can ammunition be lawfully transferred from one eligible New York gun owner to another or do strict controls exist in New York on the transfer of ammunition from one New York resident and U.S. citizen to another? Little if anything is said about this. We carefully examined the laws of New York. The answer may surprise you.[separator type="medium" style="normal" align="left"margin-bottom="25" margin_top="5"] Copyright © 2015 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) and Vincent L. Pacifico (Orca) All Rights Reserved.