If You Have a Pistol Permit, You Must Re-Certify Now

IF YOU HAVE A PISTOL PERMIT, YOU MUST RE-CERTIFY  NOW

You must obey the laws.  This is a simple statement and it is true even when the law is flawed or unjust.  People had to obey the law regarding Prohibition and many did not do that.  However, it was the law during the Roaring Twenties and it caused great confusion, corruption and destruction.

If you made alcohol, transported, sold or possessed it, you committed a federal crime.  It was a constitutional amendment and a serious crime.  The big problem is that a high portion of our population didn’t like the law, didn’t obey it and it made organized crime more profitable.  It was an abject failure and was finally repealed.

It made criminals out of “formerly” honest citizens.  It also provided the funding for corrupting politicians and law enforcement as well as making the bootleggers and criminals rich.  One would think that politicians would have learned from that lesson.  Obviously not!

Other laws were passed and enforced that were unjust.  The Jim Crow Laws of the South is an example of how innocent people can be damaged by bad legislation.  If a person was of African descent, that person was deemed to be inferior to white people.  They were victims of segregation and discrimination.

They were referred to as “Colored” and there were signs in public places making them use different rest rooms, drinking fountains, lodgings, schools and  restaurants.  They were even forced to use the back of the bus in public transportation.  There were penalties for violations of these unfair laws.  It took the Civil Rights Law to make the changes.

Dr. Martin Luther King was a brave leader in the fight to change the law and to make the people of the South give equal rights to all people.  The fight for those rights was a tough, filled with violence and Dr. King was murdered by an evil person.  Crooked politicians tried to keep the status quo, but fortunately, in this case they failed.  Equality and freedom go together.

The point is that unjust and stupid laws get passed.  New York is a good example of that statement.  In January of 2013, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos passed the SAFE Act with a Message of Necessity which is usually used for vital legislation that must be enacted quickly.

Not so with the SAFE Act.  It was deliberately done to prevent any commentary or input from law enforcement, mental health professionals and definitely to avoid any protests from the citizens.  The process was worthy of a dictatorial form of government.

The assemblymen and senators were not given a chance to read and study the bill.  One former assemblyman recently said that during the session someone dropped a piece of paper on his desk that said “Pass this bill.”  He claimed that the order came from the governor.

He was one of the few Democrats who voted against the bill, but it easily passed in the assembly and by using corrupt powers and “incentives” enough Republican senators sold out and the bill passed there by a narrow margin.

It is telling that Silver and Skelos have been convicted of corruption charges on other issues.  Due to a decision in another political corruption case, the conviction was overturned on a technicality and both men will be tried again.

While Governor Cuomo has not been charged with corruption, several of his close friends and colleagues have been charged and their trials also are scheduled for this year. There is speculation that Governor Cuomo may be involved in some fashion. It should be interesting to follow.

Due to the rush to pass the SAFE Act, there were provisions that instantly made law enforcement personnel criminals.  That dealt with magazine capacity in their pistols.  The SAFE Act made possession of a magazine holding more than seven rounds of ammunition a felony.  It didn’t have an exemption for police officers and most of them carried side arms that had magazines that held fifteen or more rounds.

When the legislators were made aware of that goof, they exempted the police, but said civilians could have only seven round magazines.  The problem was that most of the semi-automatic pistols were sold with magazines holding ten rounds.  They amended the law to allow a ten round magazine .but It could be loaded with only seven rounds.

A local resident, who had a pistol permit, was involved in a traffic violation and the officer checked his gun. There were ten rounds in the magazine and the officer arrested him.  The case was dismissed. Because some said that the law was so stupid that the court didn’t want to set a precedent.

Then a Federal Judge got the case and made a decision that the magazine could legally be loaded with ten rounds, but the ten round magazine is still the limit.  Having a magazine holding more, even without having a gun, is a felony.

Now there is the problem with another portion of the SAFE Act dealing with re-certification of pistol permits.  According to the law, those with pistol permits must re-certify every five years and this is not going well.  Those who have permits more than five years old must re-certify with the State Police by January 31 or face felony charges for illegal possession of a firearm.

If a person doesn’t re-certify, his permit is revoked, and all guns, even his rifles and shotguns, are confiscated and he can be charged with a felony.  This brings up a thought many people believe.  Throughout history, when a dictator wanted to take over a country he would confiscate guns from the citizens.  Can this be the first step in New York to reduce the number of citizens who can keep and bear arms?

Governor Cuomo has a history of dislike and disdain for people who own guns.  With his SAFE Act, is this his way of starting confiscation?  He can punish gun owners further with the felony conviction.  They can no longer have the right to vote and usually gun owners won’t vote for him.

It is necessary for those with pistol permits issued before the SAFE Act to re-certify.  Not to do so is a crime.  Don’t be a criminal because of Cuomo.