Don't Be Buffaloed

May 16

May 16 Don't Be Buffaloed

Yeah, I know…the cover photo is an American bison, and not technically a buffalo. But technicalities are kind of my point today. I’m talking about some of the legal technicalities surrounding the calls for gun control we’re hearing in the aftermath of the recent shooting in Buffalo, New York.

Let’s consider some of the more popular gun control proposals:

Banning “assault weapons”
Banning “high capacity magazines”
“Universal” background checks
Red flag laws

For starters, the 2013 NY SAFE Act was supposed to have taken care of much of this. Sale of newly manufactured “assault weapons” as defined by the act is banned, and the only such weapons which may be legally possessed in New York are those owned prior to the ban. Those rifles are required to be registered with the state. The SAFE Act also created a requirement for what are called “universal background checks,” which mandates that even private transfers (with limited exceptions) must undergo a background check through a licensed dealer.

Of course, New York has long restricted magazine capacity to a maximum of ten rounds of ammunition. The NY SAFE Act introduced a reduced allowance of only seven rounds, but that provision was struck down by the courts.

Last but not least, New York enacted a “red flag law” in 2019 which allows a district attorney, police officer, school official, or family or household member to file an “extreme risk protection order” against someone considered to be potentially dangerous. Under such an order, the person is prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms, and are required to surrender any guns they already own.

Unfortunately, none of this prevented someone who had already been identified as a threat by officials from acquiring a rifle…in violation of multiple laws…and using it to murder. So now we’re being told that the exact sort of laws which prevented nothing in New York should be passed more widely. That’s not just being buffaloed. That’s a bunch of…