Posted on 04/08/2009 10:56:57 PM PDT by neverdem
A proposed Albany County law that would require gun shops to register ammunition sales — a measure that has created a firestorm — is being reviewed for its constitutionality.
Sponsored by Legislators Phil Steck of Colonie, and Wanda Willingham and Doug Bullock, both of Albany, all Democrats, the measure would regulate the storage, possession and sale of ammunition in the county. It would also require dealers to record each ammo sale and the caliber, make, model, manufacturer's name and serial number of the firearm for which the purchase was made.
Introduced at the March meeting of the County Legislature, the proposal, called Local Law A, was sent to the Law Committee for review. Two weeks later, committee Chairman Bryan Clenahan sent the proposed local law to County Attorney Craig Denning for a ruling on its constitutionality.
Steck, who is an attorney, said he believes Local Law A will pass constitutional muster. Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association and an NRA board member, disagrees, calling the measure "an affront to every legal and lawful gun owner in Albany County."
King said "over the course of many years, the Supreme Court and many other courts have said it is illegal for authorities to keep lists of guns that are sold to individual people, and that's what this is going to do — create a list, a de facto registration by making the gun dealer keep a list of the type of guns and caliber they are buying ammunition for. The courts have said it's unconstitutional, it violates privacy laws."
Last month, at the public forum before the start of the legislature meeting, King was among many gun advocates who showed up to speak.
If approved, the law "could push the largest gun dealer in New York state out of Albany County," King suggested. He was referring to B&J Guns on Central Avenue in Colonie, which is owned and operated by Brian Olesen. It is one of several gun shops Olesen runs in the Capital Region and the only one in Albany County.
Steck referred to a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision last June that struck down a gun ban in the District of Columbia and held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to own a gun. Steck said the proposed local law is in line with that ruling.
New York has had handgun control laws on the books since 1965, the legislator said, and he specifically referred to a section of state law that makes it unlawful for any firearms dealer to sell ammunition for use in a handgun to someone not authorized to possess the handgun. Violating that section of the law constitutes a Class B misdemeanor.
The local law is an "enforcement mechanism" that would require people to display gun licenses. "Quite frankly, I never expected it to generate this type of controversy," the lawmaker said. On the other hand, no one has told him the law, which he labeled as "mild," is unnecessary because gun shops are already checking who they sell ammunition to, he said. While the state penal law doesn't require a pistol license be shown, "in the end isn't it easier that they just show their licenses?" Steck said.
King argues state laws already govern ammunition sales and questions whether the proposed county law would violate the state's pre-emption laws. Steck said similar measures are in effect in other parts of the state.
Patty Lockart, a Colonie Republican and Law Committee member, called the proposal "restrictive when a gun seller takes down the name and address of a buyer."
Steck said he "understands the philosophical objections ... but this particular law is not that radical in nature. ... We want to make it as difficult as possible for people not legally allowed to buy."
Clenahan countered that, saying, "We have to balance certain rights of law-abiding people."
Anniversary approaches
Friday marks the 40th anniversary of the shooting death of David Bacon, 22, a homicide case that shocked the Capital Region when police charged Nelson Costello earlier this year with the crime over what was a romantic rivalry.
A trial for Costello is a long ways off. No date has been set. Attorneys will first submit routine motions to Saratoga County Judge Jerry Scarano and at some point pre-trial hearings will be scheduled, District Attorney Jim Murphy said.
"The family of the victim is remembering the anniversary privately," Murphy said.
Bacon, who grew up in the Lansingburgh section of Troy, disappeared at the age of 22 on April 10, 1969. His family and friends had no idea what happened to him. He was engaged to the former Mary Haughney, who was at the center of the rivalry, according to law enforcement officials.
Costello, 62, a retired tugboat operator from Florida who most recently lived in an upscale neighborhood of Prescott, Ariz., was a constable in Waterford at the time of the slaying.
For years, the Bacon case was treated as a missing person. Last spring the case was reopened after a tip to police. Costello became a target and for months State Police investigators focused on him. Costello was arrested in Cohoes on Jan. 29, and indicted in early February, charging him with murdering Bacon at Alcathy's Marina.
Seminar
The Albany County Bar Association is sponsoring the annual CPLR Update on April 17 at the Marriott on Wolf Road. David Siegel, a professor at Albany Law School will speak on civil practice law and rules from 1 to 4 p.m. A buffet luncheon will be served at 12:30 p.m. For information, call 445-7691.
Carol DeMare can be reached at 454-5431 or by e-mail at cdemare@timesunion.com.
The gun grabbers are really latching onto this idea of regulating ammunition. I have a feeling we are going to be seeing a lot more of it.
The Rahm Emanuel philosophy of “not letting a crisis go to waste” really does explain the ethos and mentality of modern American politicians doesn’t it. It also explains why politics appeals to people who are both rapacious and stupid.
So are people suppose to carry around slips of paper with their guns serial numbers on them? What if you own (which many gun owners do) multiple guns for the type of ammo you are purchasing? I guess buying ammo as a gift or straw purchase is out of the question.
So do I, and I'm pretty sure that the rush on ammunition has more than a few of them considering legislation against stockpiling. The spring just keeps getting wound more tight.
BTTT
Gun registration. Pure and simple.....
Yep, mandate that I carry the make, model and sn of the seven .22 caliber rifles and pistols that I lost in the accident over the Pacific. I guess I would have to make them up in order to buy them.
Your Papers, Please.
“Okay, let’s see, I’ll use this round in this gun, and that round in my other gun,and let’s see,probably that round in this gun. No,no,wait,that round in that gun ,and maybe that round in, oh, hell, I just don’t know!”
I suppose the liberals would find nothing wrong with outlawing the sales of newspapers to blind people. Obviously, if you can't read, you have no right to purchase written forms of speech.
I'm looking forward to a Supreme Court decision "incorporating" the Second Amendment. It should be interesting watching various lower courts grapple with applying the rules for protecting the First Amendment to the Second Amendment.
Can the same courts which prohibit "prior restraint" in the use of speech, find that somehow such prior restraint is permitted with respect to guns? The legal guys are going to tie themselves in knots dealing with these questions.
LOL!
Ihre Papieren Bitte!
bttt
What ammo? They have ammo there?
What if you are buying ammo for a gun you don’t yet own? Or is that illegal?
>>”So are people suppose to carry around slips of paper with their guns serial numbers on them?”<<
No. You could give any made up serial number without having to produce the gun for the dealer to verify. What they want is that you present the gun at the point of sale so that it can be properly registered. Can you imagine 100 guys walking into Walmart with armloads of weapons just to buy ammo? The place would be surrounded by SWAT TEAMS in a matter of minutes.
I painfully listened to Wanda Willingham on our local radio station (WGY) a few weeks ago. She is a total 0bamabot idiot uneducated moron. She got her a$$ handed to her and ran out early to avoid further humiliation. It was funnier than hell. Callers ate her up. This bill will not pass.
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