OFF THE WIRE
New York became the first state to pass what Gov. Cuomo described as
“common sense” gun-control legislation in the wake of the Sandy Hook
Elementary shooting. And, just as gun-rights activists feared when the
legislation was rammed through, the law seems to be doing nothing but
turning law-abiding citizens into criminals. Such was the case with Gregory Dean Jr.,
the first person charged in Columbia County under the SAFE Act for
carrying two extra bullets in an otherwise legal ammunition magazine.
Reminder: a 7-round magazine, which is the law’s limit, does not exist.
Dean was pulled over by state police on May 12 for a license-plate
bulb that was out. When his gun permit was exposed to the officer, he
asked whether Dean had a gun. The next thing he knew, the officer was
counting bullets. Dean was taken into custody and had his property
impounded. “It was lunacy,” he says of the incident, adding that they
took a law-abiding citizen and made him a criminal.
Fortunately, however, District Attorney Paul Czajka exercised his
discretion and dropped the charge, which, as Dean’s attorney Jonna
Spilbor explains, took the rug out from underneath the SAFE Act with
respect to Dean’s case, essentially nullifying the legislation Cuomo
enacted.
So how is the law making New York safer? Simply put: it’s not.
Spilbor says she has yet to see a direct correlation between the SAFE
Act and keeping New York citizens safer. After all, criminals already
don’t care about laws. And Czajka echoed that point when he said that
having been a prosecutor, D.A., judge and public defender, he doesn’t
ever remember a criminal checking what the latest statute was before he
or she decided to commit a crime. “The only conclusion you can draw
[about the law] is that it’s about an agenda,” Spilbor said.
The New York’s Sheriff’s Association blasted the law in a public
statement and thus far, nearly 60 New York Counties have passed
nullification measures. The NRA, New York State Rifle and Pistol
Association, other sportsmen’s groups, firearms businesses and gun
owners also filed a lawsuit in March challenging the SAFE Act, according
to Fox News. Spilbor and Dean believe these organizations are
essential in the fight or else the voices of ordinary citizens will
never get heard.“This country’s built on people who fought the oppressors the whole way
through and if we stop now, we won’t have pistol permits anymore, the
Second Amendment or the right to bear arms,” Dean says.
