Crime Solving Legislation Passes Assembly: Measures Expand DNA Databank, Require Microstamping..(NY)

New York State Assembly ^ | May 12, 2010 | NA

[neverdem]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

May 12, 2010

Crime Solving Legislation Passes Assembly

Measures Expand DNA Databank, Require Microstamping Technology for Semiautomatic Pistols

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Codes Committee Chair Joseph Lentol announced today the passage of legislation that will help law enforcement solve crimes by expanding the DNA databank and requiring microstamping technology on semiautomatic pistols.

"These common sense measures will help protect New Yorkers by vastly increasing information available to law enforcement as it conducts criminal investigations by giving it the tools to forge meaningful links between evidence and crimes," said Silver (D-Manhattan). "I applaud my colleagues in the Assembly Majority for recognizing the importance of this package of legislation. By expanding the DNA database and requiring microstamping on semi-automatic weapons, we can help keep our neighborhoods safe."

"The Assembly has passed legislation today that will take important steps towards protecting innocent individuals from wrongful convictions. It also broadens the DNA database by including all those convicted of violating any crime in the penal law," said Lentol (D-Brooklyn). "In the many years I have spent working on these important measures to prevent wrongful conviction and to help the innocent get out of prison after being wrongfully convicted, I have often been accused of being soft on crime, for trying to help the innocent. Well I say we are being tough on crime, because as long as an innocent man or woman rots in prison, the guilty man is free to walk the streets committing more crimes. The goal, after all, of our criminal justice system is to protect the rights of the innocent and protect society by ensuring that only those who have committed crimes are brought before the bar of justice. The proposals included in today's package are a solid step toward better protecting law-abiding, responsible New Yorkers."

One measure would require semiautomatic pistols manufactured or delivered to a licensed dealer in this state to be capable of microstamping ammunition (A.6468C/Schimel). The bill would ensure that when a gun is fired, information identifying the make, model and serial number of the gun is stamped onto the cartridge. Police investigating crimes would be able to link firearms to those crimes by looking at cartridge cases found at crime scenes. The Assembly also passed legislation which would protect innocent people from being wrongfully convicted while expanding the state's criminal DNA database (A.6528/Lentol). Specifically, this broad-based, sensible measure would:

• Require the collection of DNA from every person convicted of a crime under the penal law;
• Create guidelines for DNA sampling;
• Establish important privacy safeguards to prevent the misuse and wrongful dissemination of DNA;
• Require the videotaping of police interrogations;
• Provide remedies for those who have been wrongly convicted including an independent Commission on the Integrity of the Criminal Justice System, which would investigate allegations that innocent people were wrongfully convicted of criminal offenses; and
• Allow for special fictitious name - or "John Doe" - indictments that may be used in DNA cases to stop the clock on the running statute of limitations where DNA evidence ties an unknown or unidentified person to the commission of the crime.

The legislative package also includes a bill that would mandate that the Division of Criminal Justice Services report annually on handgun transactions and pistol licenses issued in New York State (A.10894/Kavanagh). These statistics, compiled on a county and New York City-wide level without identifying any single gun owner, will be helpful in informing policy decisions on whether any further gun legislation might be needed and whether the current system of licensing is operating as the law intends.

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[neverdem]

They had to screw up an apparently otherwise good bill with useless Microstamping.

[Dan Nunn]

Worse than useless. Expensive. Are we going to have firearms like we have lawnmowers now that say “NOT FOR SALE IN CALIFORNIA,” except for New York?

I guess we already have that with magazines more than 10 rounds. But now New York is in a whole other league.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

There is nothing so useless or stupid that government won't spend money on it.

Matter of fact, useless and stupid seem to be requirements.

[Pecos]

Someone needs to tell NY how easy it is to completely defeat microstamping....but then when have the libs ever let facts get in the way of a good scary story?

[Dan Nunn]

Someone needs to tell NY how easy it is to completely defeat microstamping

Like buying a revolver?

[taxcontrol]

Worse than useless, worse than expensive.... down right miss leading.

A criminal plans to kill someone.
Goes to a local range and finds fired brass from the same caliber. Uses micro-scope to find one case that has a stamp on it. Goes ahead and commits the crime. Drops the wiped down case at the crime scene.

Cops spend days / weeks harassing an innocent gun owner.

[Dan Nunn]

Very good point. Hopefully a smart detective will take into consideration the fact that the brass has been fired multiple times before going for a conviction, but you’re right, they will be at least hassled.

[hadit2here]

Just where are the LE agencies gonna buy their firearms and ammo from when no mfg will microstamp, thus cannot sell into NY?

Isn’t it about time the firearms industry bands together with gun owners and refuses to sell to any LE agency where these kind of regulations are in place? It would be painful economically at first, losing the sales to those agencies/states, but once the “unintended consequences” of these type of laws were felt, the long term benefit would vastly outweigh the short term economic losses.

I can’t believe that the firearms industry can be so shortsighted.

[Dan Nunn]

Isn’t it about time the firearms industry bands together

I can just see the antitrust case started by Attorney General Holder or Cuomo after that kind of a tactic. I totally agree with you, but I don't see it happening. The firearms companies (like most businesses) mainly try to stay under the radar.

Oh, they will make microstamp-enabled firearms. Likely 50%-100% markup from a non-microstamp firearm. Legal citizens suffer, criminals are unaffected.

[IHateLeftists]

I gotta get out of this state. I gotta get out of this state. I feel that other states are becoming carbon copies of NY though. What are we going to do when every state is like NY and California? The liberals get elected to the legislature and contribute to the economic demise of state #1. When the citizen liberals of that state are fed up that they can't find jobs and/or that they're being taxed to death, they move to state #2. They carry their beliefs with them, however, and proceed to elect more liberals to the legislature of the second state. The process repeats itself.

Right now, I'm looking at Texas as my #1 option after finishing school. Maybe the Dakotas or Wyoming too, although I really want warmer weather.