Tomorrow, June 3, the New York Assembly Codes Committee is scheduled to hear Assembly Bill 3244-A and Assembly Bill 3941-A. These bills are legislative remains from past years which anti-gun state lawmakers attempt to revitalize annually. While it is expected that these bills will pass in the Assembly, due to its partisan makeup, the legislation will head to the state Senate where there is a better chance of blocking both of these bills.
Assembly Bill 3941-A, titled “Children’s Weapon Accident Prevention Act,” seeks to force its way into gun owners’ homes by criminally penalizing those who store their weapons in a way other than what this bill deems appropriate. This legislation has been introduced and has died in the New York Legislature every year since 2000.
Assembly Bill 3244-A would require all current semi-automatic pistols in production and all newly designed semi-automatic pistols delivered to any licensed firearms dealer in New York to mechanically stamp an alpha-numeric or geometric code that would imprint the make, model and serial number onto the cartridge case when the gun is discharged. This bill would vastly increase the cost of these firearms and will likely result in firearms manufacturers not selling new handguns in New York. Of course, that is the ultimate goal of this legislation. Fortunately, the New York Senate has resisted even considering microstamping legislation, such as A.3244-A, in recent years. The NRA continues to reinforce our position with the state Senate that microstamping is a bad proposal on multiple levels. This technology simply isn’t proven, and it would increase the cost of firearms and ammunition.
It is critical that you contact your state Assemblyman AND Senator immediately and respectfully urge them to OPPOSE Assembly Bills 3941-A and 3244-A. Contact information for your Assemblyman can be found here. Contact information for your state Senator can be found here.