Capital District SCOPE

A-3998/S-687, Clarifies the definition of imitation weapon, has passed the legislature.

The bill states that permissible imitation weapons must be entirely brightly colored or be constructed entirely of transparent or translucent materials, along with other identifying features.

I wonder if there is a Bright Black color?

December 28, 2021| Peter Howard Tilem Content by: Tilem & Associates, PC link here

In October we wrote an extensive blog about the legality of 80% Lowers in New York and indicated at that time that the law in New York could be changing on eighty percent lowers because legislation was pending in Albany. Well later the same day that we here at Tilem & Associates posted that blog, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a package of new legislation which changed the legality of 80 percent lowers in New York.

Among the changes are the fact that that it will be illegal to possess an unfinished receiver or an unfinished frame often referred to as an eighty percent lower. It becomes illegal to possess these unfinished frames or receivers from six months after the date the law becomes effective. Unfinished frames and unfinished receivers are defined very broadly under the law and include any material that doesn’t constitute a receiver or frame but which has been formed and/or shaped to allow it to become a frame or receiver for a shotgun, rifle or pistol and which can be “readily” made into a receiver or frame that is functioning. What readily made means is not defined so it is unknown if a receiver that is 70% finished, 60% finished or only 20% finished would be legal.

The new law makes it a crime to possess unfinished receivers or frames and makes it a separate crime to sell unfinished receivers or frames. This would seemingly make it illegal for internet sellers of firearms parts to sell polymer 80 or other 80% lowers and ship them into New York State.

In addition, the new law appears to create a new crime for possession of a “major component” of a rifle, shotgun or firearm. The new law makes it a crime for a prohibited person to possess a “major component” of any type of gun. This would be a person prohibited under New York or Federal law including those who have been convicted of serious offenses, who have had an Extreme Risk Protection Order issued against them or are prohibited or are prohibited under the Safe Act. Major components include a barrel, slide, cylinder, receiver or frame for a firearm, rifle or shotgun. So under the new law it is illegal for a prohibited person to possess even a non-functioning, inert piece of a gun.

The new legislation, goes further in New York’s quest to punish and throw up road blocks for law abiding gun owners and hobbyists who enjoy hunting, firearms and the shooting sports. It is very unclear how the new laws will do anything to lessen the scourge of violent crimes that are plaguing the streets of our cities. Any hope that Governor Hochul who incidentally was endorsed by the NRA when she ran for Congress years ago would redirect the energies of the State from the anti gun policies of her predecessor Governor Cuomo are certainly shattered.

New York gun owners who have unfinished and unserialized receivers and frames should take the next few months to surrender them, serialize them or sell them out of state. In addition retailers who regularly ship gun parts and 80 percent receivers into New York should take the next several months to put procedures in place to ensure that they do not ship those items to New York State addresses.

Non-Leathal tasers can set you on fire… under certain circumstances. In this case a former high school track and baseball star from Catskill entered the Main Street Catskill police station, reportedly intoxicated, and got into a scuffle with police officers, but not before he “reportedly doused himself” with hand sanitizer. They used a non-lethal taser or stun gun on him and he burst into flames. He is being treated at Albany Medical Center for severe burns.

I have heard of this before when sunscreen caused a man to burst into flames from a taser or stun gun.

More here:
https://www.hudsonvalley360.com/news/greenecounty/stun-gun-fire-probe-leads-investigators-to-video/article_246656c2-ba7a-54c0-903b-5a0659e2de4c.html
And here:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10171065/Man-burst-flames-Taser-used-police-say.html

From SCOPE:

Tannerite has been used for explosive targets for years. These targets can be bought on-line or home-made.

A SCOPE member pointed out something that members should be aware of:

In 2019, Governor Cuomo signed bill S5276a which: “…would prohibit the storage, use or purchase of the explosive Tannerite or similar product sold under a different name without the proper license or other authorization to do so under the provisions of law”.

Excerpt From NPR, WBFO-FM 88.71, Ryan Finnerty, August 23, 2021

One of the first choices Hochul will face as governor is whether or not to continue her predecessor’s state of emergency on gun violence. Outgoing Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose resignation takes effect at midnight, issued an emergency declaration in July over gun violence. “We went from an epidemic of COVID to an epidemic of gun violence,” Cuomo said on July 6 at a press event at John Jay College.

In the past, Hochul has been a supporter of gun rights, even earning a favorable rating from the National Rifle Association while representing Western New York in Congress in 2012. But after a break following a losing bid for re-election, Hochul returned to the political scene to run for lieutenant governor with a far more liberal agenda….

Read More of the Article Here: https://www.wrvo.org/politics-and-government/2021-08-23/kathy-hochuls-evolving-stance-on-gun-control

From a June 17, 2021 Press Release

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced the opening of the Saratoga Sand Plains Archery Range in the town of Wilton, Saratoga County. The public archery range, formally known as Parcel 45 Wildlife Management Area, is the first of its kind in New York State and will provide a unique recreational opportunity for both novice and expert bow hunters and archers.

The 50-yard archery range has 16 targets, eight adult lanes ranging from 15 to 50 yards, four youth lanes ranging from five to 20 yards, and four lanes accessed by an elevated platform ranging up to 40 yards. The elevated platform simulates shots from a tree stand when deer hunting and allows archers to practice shots from known yardages and angles, promoting safer shot placements for both urban and rural settings. The archery range is open and maintained year-round for public use.

More Here: https://www.dec.ny.gov/press/123238.html

The culture war on firearm ownership has continued in a way that I don’t think anybody anticipated. The Supreme Court has just ruled that NCAA student athletes have a right to be compensated and take endorsement deals in connection with their name, image, and likeness. We all know the Supreme Court has also ruled that firearm ownership is a protected civil right.

Well, states are stepping in and passing laws purported to protect both the athletes and the universities that list some prohibited categories of products and services that students can associate with. One of them — you guessed it — despite the fact that it is an NCAA sanctioned sport, and that an NCAA student just won an Olympic gold medial in the shooting sports, some of the states are identifying firearms and ammunition or anything in any way related to the two as a prohibited category that these students can take endorsement deals on.

So the Supreme Court has said, firearm ownership…absolute civil right. Students have a right to take sponsorship deals on their name, image, and likeness. I’m a little confused and perplexed on why states think they can list firearms as a prohibited category.

Keep in mind this is part of the larger culture war. Everybody needs to be involved and proactive on this. I’m asking everybody to share this with any national or state organization that’s involved in the protection of Second Amendment rights. Because as I just mentioned, the NCAA and the federal government are now consulting with one another in drafting federal-level rules that in some cases will preempt the state rules.

— Average Gun Owner

Follow Average Gun Owner at Twitter and Instagram

Stillwater Rod and Gun Club Sportsman’s Sale

July 10, 2021

Location: 1696 River Rd County Rt 113, Easton NY 12154

Time: 12 – 6

From the Department of Justice New York State Attorney’s office (Northern District of NY) Web site, June 22, 2021. ATF searched the felon’s East Greenbush storage unit on November 14, 2019, and found it to contain, among other items:

Two (2) rifles,
One (1) revolver,
Four (4) serialized AR-15-style rifle receivers/frames,
Two (2) completed “ghost guns,”
Five (5) pistol parts kits,
Two (2) completed silencers and enough parts to build more than ten (10) silencers,
An assorted quantity of firearm parts and accessories, of which five (5) are classified as machineguns under federal law, and
3,250 rounds of assorted rifle and pistol ammunition.

The felon also rented a storage unit in Redway, California. ATF searched this storage unit on November 20, 2019, and found it to contain, among other items:

Two (2) Glock pistols,
Seven (7) additional handguns,
Three (3) rifles,
One (1) shotgun,
Five (5) machinegun conversion kits,
More than ten (10) silencers, and
More than 1,000 rounds of assorted rifle and handgun ammunition.

More here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny/pr/convicted-gun-trafficker-pleads-guilty-firearms-charges