Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Anti-gun Buttinskis Seek to Politicize NYPD's Firearm Procurements

Friday, January 24, 2014

Since reporting on Jersey City, N.J., Mayor Steven Fulop's adoption of a gun control questionnaire for firearms vendors in December, the campaign to leverage municipal firearms contracts to enact civilian firearms restrictions has continued.  Now, the New York City Police Department is in the gun control activists' crosshairs. If successful, the campaign would subject manufacturers bidding to supply the nation's largest police force to eligibility criteria measuring the gun makers' participation in advancing several items of the anti-gun agenda, including "smart gun" technology, microstamping, and the restriction of private firearm transfers.  Opposed even by former New York mayor and current anti-gun sugar daddy Michael Bloomberg, the standards would only serve to disadvantage law enforcement officers by subjecting their critical equipment to political, rather than functional, litmus tests.

The New York City effort is being led by Rabbi Joel Mosbacher and the Metro Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF).  Rabbi Mosbacher has stated that his intent is to use municipal contracting to create an "emerging market" for "smarter, safer guns and better distribution practices by gun manufacturers."  The increasing push to politicize the NYPD procurement process follows a December trip by Mosbacher and several allies to Europe, in which the gun control advocates attempted (with evident futility) to pressure several European firearms manufacturers into supporting new firearm restrictions in the United States.  A veteran gun control advocate, Mosbacher participated in the anti-gun "Million Mom March" campaign in 2000.

Unfortunately for New York's Finest, Mosbacher has a more receptive audience in the recently-sworn-in New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio than with Bloomberg.  According to the Jewish Daily Forward, during the New York mayoral campaign, gun control advocates secured assurances from de Blasio that he would use city firearm contracts to further an anti-gun agenda.  This promise is reminiscent of then-"Public Advocate" de Blasio's own 2011 attempt to get the city to boycott a gun manufacturer.

The full questionnaire that Mosbacher and his colleagues intend to burden the NYPD with has yet to become available, but it would likely be similar to the one implemented by Jersey City, as Mosbacher and Metro IAF have claimed some credit for Fulop adopting it.  Additionally, in an opinion piece for the New York Daily News, Mosbacher shares several topics he'd like the New York questionnaire to cover.

One potential question asks, "Does the manufacturer insist that dealers train their employees to spot 'straw buyers' --people buying guns for end users who are circumventing background checks?"  Here the Rabbi appears ignorant of joint efforts by the gun industry and federal law enforcement already underway to halt straw purchases.  In 2000, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and BATFE launched the "Don't Lie for the Other Guy" campaign, complete with print and broadcast public service announcements, and a "Retailer Tool Kit" aimed at helping gun dealers and their employees identify and deter illegal sales.

Other proposed questions ask about the manufacturers' participation in developing gun control technologies, such as, "Does the manufacturer cooperate fully with law enforcement--for example, by developing advanced ballistics technologies like bullet microstamping?" and "Is the manufacturer moving at breakneck speed to bring safer guns to market, like those with biometric recognition or other systems that prevent non-authorized users from pulling the trigger?"  For these questions, firearm manufacturers could be penalized for not pursuing expensive, ineffective, and unreliable technologies that the civilian and law enforcement market do not want.

Tests have proven that microstamping technology can be defeated with simple tools or replacement parts (not to mention simply by high volume firing of the gun).  Moreover, firearm manufacturer Smith & Wesson recently announced that it is exiting the California semi-automatic handgun market due in part to the state's onerous microstamping requirements.  For the company to forego selling its semi-automatic handguns in the most populous state suggests that the costs of implementing such technology are far more prohibitive than the overly optimistic predictions of microstamping advocates and more in line with industry estimates, which have calculated an additional cost of $200 per firearm.  Even notoriously anti-gun Washington, D.C., recently enacted "emergency" legislation to delay (yet again) implementation of its unworkable microstamping mandate. 

As for "smart gun" technology, a 2013 poll undertaken by McKeon & Associates and commissioned by NSSF found that 74 percent of those polled thought that firearms incorporating biometric or radio frequency identification technology would not be reliable.  Additionally, 74 percent of those polled noted that they would not be very likely to, or would not buy, a "smart gun."  Further evidence of the problems posed by these unproven technologies is that in states where laws have been passed mandating their use, such as California and New Jersey, law enforcement groups, not willing to put their own lives in the hands of such components, have successfully lobbied to be exempt from such requirements. 

While evaluating firearm manufacturers on irrelevant criteria is unwise for any local government concerned with the safety of police and public alike, complicating matters further is that NYPD officers are authorized to choose their duty sidearm from a list of three models provided by three different manufacturers.  This arrangement wisely allows for the police force's 34,500 officers to choose the firearm with which they are most competent and comfortable.  In New York's case, adding gun control politics to this process would not only open the possibility of limiting the entire NYPD's access to the best equipment, but could adversely affect safety by restricting an individual officer's choice in carrying the firearm with which they are most proficient.

As we noted in a previous alert, decades of attempts to use government firearm contracts to pursue civilian firearms restrictions have been met with scorn by the law enforcement community.  While we doubt Mosbacher and de Blasio are interested in NRA's opinion on the matter, the pair should at least take this vocal law enforcement opposition as evidence as to the importance of equipping officers with the best tools for their job, independent of gun control politics, and abandon any attempts score cheap political points at the potential cost of officer and public safety.

TRENDING NOW
Nancy Pelosi: Pro-Gun Voters Made an Impact

News  

Monday, November 18, 2024

Nancy Pelosi: Pro-Gun Voters Made an Impact

Congratulations NRA members and other pro-gun voters! Once again, our votes helped make the difference.

Make Crime Illegal Again

News  

Monday, November 18, 2024

Make Crime Illegal Again

While less prominent than the red sweep of the nation’s electoral map and the triumph of President Donald Trump, another telling development following the 2024 elections was the number of Californians in ultra-progressive strongholds who ...

Gulfport City Council Votes to Create "Gun-Free Zone" for Law-Abiding Citizens

Friday, November 22, 2024

Gulfport City Council Votes to Create "Gun-Free Zone" for Law-Abiding Citizens

This week, the Gulfport City Council voted 4-3 to ban law-abiding citizens who legally open carry from bringing firearms into City Council Chambers during a public meeting. They also approved intrusive security measures, including wanding ...

Bloomberg’s Mayors, Back in the News!

News  

Monday, November 18, 2024

Bloomberg’s Mayors, Back in the News!

Just a few short weeks ago, we wrote about Michael Bloomberg’s controversy-dogged gun control organization, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), and how another high-ranking member of the group had been indicted for allegedly committing serious ...

Federal District Court Strikes Down IL’s “Assault Weapon” and “Large-Capacity Magazine” Bans in NRA-Supported Case

Saturday, November 9, 2024

Federal District Court Strikes Down IL’s “Assault Weapon” and “Large-Capacity Magazine” Bans in NRA-Supported Case

Today, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois struck down provisions of the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) that prohibit “assault weapons” and “large-capacity magazines” in an NRA-supported case, Barnett v. Raoul.

NRA Files Amicus Brief Arguing that Washington’s Magazine Ban Violates the Second Amendment

Friday, November 15, 2024

NRA Files Amicus Brief Arguing that Washington’s Magazine Ban Violates the Second Amendment

Today, NRA filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the State of Washington in a challenge to Washington’s prohibition on magazines that hold over 10 rounds.

Michigan: Take Action Against "Gun-Free Zone" Bills Today!

Friday, November 15, 2024

Michigan: Take Action Against "Gun-Free Zone" Bills Today!

Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety SB 857 and SB 858 with amendments and the bills will now be eligible for votes on the Senate floor. Please use the take action button below and ...

Kamala for Gun Confiscation: In Her Own Words

News  

Monday, September 16, 2024

Kamala for Gun Confiscation: In Her Own Words

During the September 10 presidential debate, President Donald Trump correctly highlighted Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s support for gun confiscation. A visibly defensive Harris claimed, “We're not taking anybody's guns away. So stop with the ...

Missouri: AG Bailey Intervenes on County’s Assault on the Second Amendment

Friday, November 22, 2024

Missouri: AG Bailey Intervenes on County’s Assault on the Second Amendment

Missouri’s Attorney General Andrew Bailey took immediate action to stop the erosion of the Second Amendment by a County Commission bent on restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens who either reside or traverse within its ...

NRA Scores Legal Victory Against ATF; “Pistol Brace Rule” Enjoined From Going Into Effect Against NRA Members

Monday, April 1, 2024

NRA Scores Legal Victory Against ATF; “Pistol Brace Rule” Enjoined From Going Into Effect Against NRA Members

NRA Members Among the Largest Class Protected from Draconian Rule

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.