N.Y. Dems push for gun microstamping legislation
New York legislators are pushing for new gun technology that could help law enforcement officials fight crime; microstamping is a new technique that stamps a code on shell casings ejected when a gun is fired; the code can provide valuable information like the dealer who sold it and the buyer who purchased it; this week marks the end New York’s current legislative session and Democratic lawmakers are pushing to get the Republican controlled Senate to take up a bill that would require guns in New York to be microstamped
In an opinion piece, Binghamton mayor Matthew Ryan and State Senator Gustavo Rivera argue that if “microstamping” legislation were passed in New York, local police departments would have a valuable new tool in tracking down dangerous criminals.
According to Ryan and Rivera, the technology can help provide detectives with new leads and is cheap to implement, costing less than $12 a gun.
So far the New York State Assembly has passed a bill requiring guns made or sold in New York to be equipped with microstamping technology three times, but last year the law ultimately failed to pass the Senate by two votes.
Pro-gun advocates have staunchly opposed microstamping stating that the technology is flawed, threatens the rights of gun owners, and is expensive.
In a statement, Lawrence G. Keane, the senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said, “Compelling the use of this unreliable patented sole-sourced technology will result in a ban on firearms for law-abiding consumers in the Empire State”
Keane went on to say, “Many manufacturers will choose to abandon the New York market rather than incur substantial costs associated with complying with microstamping legislation, which would include purchasing (at monopolistic prices) very expensive equipment and patented technology and completely redesigning their manufacturing processes, plant and equipment.”
This week marks the end New York’s current legislative session and Democratic lawmakers are pushing to get the Republican controlled Senate to take up the bill.
Ryan and Rivera argue, “Given the fact that in 2009, 481 New Yorkers were killed through gun violence, the Senate leadership’s decision is a slap in the face to law enforcement and to those working on issues of public safety.”
