Capital District Region Shooter's Committee on Political Education
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
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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
From The Record 6/21/21.
Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly announced recently the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) has renewed its commitment to the GIVE (Gun Involved Violence Elimination Initiative) grant in Rensselaer County.
This marks the eighth year the Troy Police, the District Attorney’s Office and Rensselaer County Probation have collaborated on the GIVE grant.
The GIVE grant funds an Assistant District Attorney dedicated to prosecuting GIVE related crimes in Troy, as well as a Confidential Investigator assigned to GIVE detail with the Probation department.
The District Attorney’s office currently has 145 open GIVE cases, including 116 felonies. The District Attorney’s office has prosecuted over 250 GIVE cases since 2016.
“These individuals, the Assistant District Attorney and the Special Investigator assist with crime scene search warrants, subpoenas, and court orders, as well as prosecution of the GIVE cases,” Donnelly stated.
“These are vital to the end result which is to prosecute those with guns in our community. Donnelly explained.
“The news of the award is timely, considering June is Gun Violence Awareness Month. In the City of Troy, there is a significant need to continue to investigate and prosecute the violent offenders who put our citizens at risk,” Donnelly added.
An Associated Press investigation into firearms missing from the U.S. armed services has linked a stolen Army service pistol to four shootings in Albany.
The Army couldn’t say how its 9mm Beretta got to New York’s capital, where authorities tied it to shootings in 2017 and 2018.
Until police recovered the Beretta M9 in June 2018, following a foot chase, the Army didn’t even realize someone had stolen the gun. Inventory records checked by investigators said the M9 was 600 miles away — safe inside Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
“One gun creates a ton of devastation,” Albany County District Attorney Soares said. “And then it puts it on local officials, local law enforcement, to have to work extra hard to try to remove those guns from the community.”
The pistol was among at least 1,900 U.S. military firearms that AP learned were unaccounted for during the last decade. Intended for war, some guns ended up on America’s streets.
Military officials say missing firearms are a tiny fraction of their stockpile, and note that some are recovered.
From the Associated Press June 15, 2021
Three cheers for not having the local and state prosecutors drop the gun charges on CRIMINALS and bumping the charges up to federal court. Also acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon seems happy to pursue it.
From News10.com: Six people have been indicted on federal weapons charges. Investigators say the suspects were possessing firearms even though they are felons. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says this is in an effort to curb gun violence. “These cases, and many others under investigation, reflect our ongoing efforts to take as many illegal guns off the streets as possible and to prosecute those who illegally possess and use these guns. With our law enforcement partners, we are directing greater resources to prosecuting gun crimes as part of an all-hands approach to address rising violence in many of our cities. Families and neighborhoods should not have to suffer another summer of increased shootings and tragedy. We will continue working to make safer communities for all by holding offenders accountable and by engaging in community-based efforts for violence reduction,” said Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon.
More here: https://www.news10.com/news/6-indicted-on-federal-firearms-charges/
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy, Troy Mayor Patrick Madden, and Glens Falls Mayor Dan Hall (and others), sent a joint letter Tuesday calling for the the state legislature to pass gun control bills introduced by Assemblymember Patricia Fahy and Senator Zellnor Myrie.
One of the bills attempts to circumvent federal law and attempts to remove immunity from frivolous lawsuits against the gun manufacturers as part of the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
If you live in Albany, Schenectady, Troy or Glens Falls, it is time to call your Mayor and ask them the fix their poor policies that promote crime and violence against their citizens. Ask them to pressure their district attorney not to drop any gun charges against a criminal when a gun is used in a crime and forward those charges to federal court where the sentences are higher.