Tuesday, January 15, 2013

NY Passes Most Restrictive Gun Laws in Country

NY now has new gun laws. It's some pretty tough stuff: no magazines with capacity over seven rounds, all gun sales must have a check, and ammo sales are now going to require a background check (and are additionally taxed).

This gun is now illegal in New York since it has a 15 round magazine: [UPDATE] Actually, I went through and read the full text of the law, and lever action rifles are exempted. So....you can still legally own this gun. Since they've basically made the modern version of this gun illegal, maybe the ol' 1873 will have experience a renaissance.
Winchester 1873 (Yes, it was designed in 1873)
Hey, this was an "assault weapon" back in 1873.

8 comments:

  1. Ah yes, because its impossible to protect yourself with a gun that only carries 7 bullets. Shocker that a state that sits adjacent to Connecticut wants to have checks and balances to make sure the mentally unbalanced and felons cannot purchase guns and ammo.

    DMS

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    1. DMS, You're correct. It's certainly not "impossible" to protect yourself with seven rounds of ammunition in your firearm. However, I think that legislating on this principle is a poor idea. It's just an arbitrary number, too. I would prefer to see something that would actually make a difference. This magazine restriction is a distraction - it's not going to matter at all. The time it takes to change a magazine is negligible.

      As for the background checks for ammo, I wouldn't have a problem with it if the check was free, took less than 5 minutes, and there were no additional taxes on the ammo. The additional taxes is mostly what I object to.

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  2. I agree that the magazine issue is a marginal help. I admit I don't know enough about guns, but I would imagine that, in a situation where you have a deranged person with a gun, knowing they will have to pause, at least briefly, to reload may make a difference. Is 7 to strict? maybe, but I Think restricting that makes sense. If police know you can only fire 7 rounds before reloading, that gives them that much of advantage as well.

    As for background checks, I don't think its a good answer to say it will cost money / is inconvenient so we should not do it. Gun owners spend thousands on guns and ammo....if they really want / need to purchase weapons, there needs to be checks and balances. Its like a driver's license, no one wants to wait in the DMV line.

    DMS

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    1. DMS and I could probably sit down at a bar and come to an agreement on all of the country's problems in less time than it takes us to drink six beers each.

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    2. Well, these days, after 3 beers, my ability to reason is diminished and after 6 I'd probably agree we should arm everyone over 3 years old.

      DMS

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  3. More fascinating to a South Carolinian is the 1866 Winchester....or the Henry (glad the boy was named after it) - now it was the real "assault" weapon - the story is that the Federals would not buy it in 1876 or either that Hampton's people diverted a shipment of them, In any case there is research being done on this and you can see some of it in the Confederate Museum down there on Gervais. The people who had been disenfranchised by the Federal Government were able to use the Henry and anything else they could scrounge up to re-establish law and order - while the Federals were suppling arms to the violent and lawless mob.

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