'Antique Firearms' Targeted in New York State Measure
By Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor
January 08, 2008
(CNSNews.com) - New York has some of the toughest gun control laws on the books, but a new measure being debated in the state assembly would mandate that people who want to buy muzzle-loading pistols or muskets get a permit for "antique firearms."
According to State Assembly Bill A09543, introduced by Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) on Nov. 30, the measure would eliminate the exemption of antique firearms from regulation and licensing.
The legislation amends sections of New York's penal law to prevent certain types of firearms known as "black powder rifles" to be purchased without background checks and carried without licenses.
"Currently, because these .50-caliber rifles are muzzle-loaded, they are classified as 'antique guns,' and as a result, are exempt from the screening process of other firearm purchases," the bill says.
Gianaris pointed to two events in recent months that highlight the "danger" posed by these weapons.
The first happened in mid-June, when a New York state trooper was shot in the shoulder while investigating a domestic dispute in northern New York.
While responding to a 911 call, 29-year-old Amanda Reif was seriously injured by a blast from a black powder rifle fired by Steven McCumber, a 45-year-old convicted rapist who was able to purchase the weapon because it was considered an antique and therefore not subject to any permits or background checks.
Despite being seriously wounded, Reif was able to return fire, killing McCumber with a single shot. Reif recovered from her injury.
Three months later, 22-year-old Omesh Hiraman -- a freshman at St. John's University in New York City -- was seen leaving a cab on the school's campus in Queens while carrying another .50-caliber rifle and wearing a rubber mask that resembled the Fred Flintstone cartoon character.
Even though Hiraman had a history of mental illness, he was able to purchase the weapon in a Poughkeepsie gun store the week before he carried it onto the campus, which is located in the district represented by Gianaris in the state assembly.
However, students who saw the masked and armed student quickly contacted campus security, which had instituted a new emergency alert system after the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech, where a student killed 32 people and himself.
As a result, Hiraman was captured by unarmed security guards while the campus was locked down and before anyone was injured.
Soon after the Queens incident, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly called for stricter statewide gun regulations. "Anything you can put a bullet in" should require a permit, he said during a news conference. "I'm certainly a proponent for more regulations."
Gianaris stated in his measure that it would "close this loophole" in state law by requiring those purchasing black powder rifles to be screened "in a manner consistent" with other New York gun restrictions.
But opponents of the legislation claim that it goes too far.
Ken Mathison, president of the Shooters Committee on Political Education (SCOPE, Inc.), told Cybercast News Service on Monday that the intent of the new measure "is to keep muzzleloaders out of the hands of felons, but through its wording, it requires a license for all muzzleloaders."
Mathison and other critics point to the language of the bill, which defines an "antique firearm" as "any muzzle-loading pistol or revolver with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap or similar type of ignition system (or a pistol or revolver which uses fixed cartridges which are no longer available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade)."
Because of that broad definition and the lack of any exception for historical sites and museums, the bill could end antique firearm collecting and reenacting historical battles in New York, which would be a blow to the state's economy.
Also, Mathison said that the legislation's "knee-jerk response" to the incidents that involved muzzle-loading firearms could also restrict hunting in New York state, which he called "a big deal."
"If this bill were to become law, it would require all current owners of muzzleloaders to get a license similar to a pistol license just to possess these items in their homes and use them on their private property," he stated. "That's what's bad about it."
Nevertheless, Mathison said he believes it's only "a matter of time" before the measure is enacted into law" because Democrats already control the state assembly and need only three seats to take over the state Senate.
Dave Workman, communications director with the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), agreed on Monday that the measure is "a typical over-reaction by lawmakers in Albany to two unfortunate but isolated incidents that should not be used to attack the rights of tens of thousands of law-abiding gun owners."
"The majority of people who will be unfairly penalized by this legislation are historic re-enactors and hunters, who have harmed nobody," he added. "Now the legislature seeks to hold these people accountable for the acts of two individuals."
