5 ms·

NYS is overall absolutely terrible for gun stuff. Hunting rifles and shotguns are easy, but the current process for purchasing anything semi-automatic and/or a

NYS is overall absolutely terrible for gun stuff. Hunting rifles and shotguns are easy, but the current process for purchasing anything semi-automatic and/or a handgun in very onerous. Over a year wait in most counties, years long residency requirements, you have to give up your social media accounts, submit various notarized statements, in-person interviews, etc. If I have a NYS CCW and you don't, I cannot legally take you to a range (or my backyard) and let you try out shooting a handgun. You need to go through the entire permit process before you can touch a handgun inside of NYS. And if you're not a NYS resident? No permit for you, they don't grant them to non-residents. It's easier to buy handguns in most European countries than in NYS, and that's not a good thing. The entire process is made to be incredibly time consuming, expensive and frustrating, enough that most people will just give up and not do it.

tetromino_ 4y ago
That sounds like a reasonable set of policies, to be honest. Easy to get the kind of gun you would want as an ordinary working tool in the countryside or for home defense. Difficult and time-consuming to get the kind of gun you would want for a mass murder.
- coinbasetwwa 4y ago
  Semiautomatic rifles and pistols are the most commonly used guns for home and self defense by a large margin. Being behind a 2 year wait to perform the same background check the federal government can do in 30 seconds makes absolutely zero sense.
- a4a4a4a4 4y ago
  It's not a reasonable set of policies though, they're intentionally made to be burdensome and hard to comply with. Background check: yes, fine. However, these need to be processed quickly to have any effect. If someone is flagged, don't we want to know that sooner rather than later, even if they're blocked from buying a firearm legally? Submitting social media profiles: What defines social media? What happens if I forget a handle? Are political opinions now going to be a deciding factor in whether or not I can exercise a constitutional right? No out-of-state licenses issue: There is no good reason for this. If I'm spending time (and money) in NYS, and can otherwise possess a firearm, why am I not allowed to do this when visiting? No touching of a handgun without a pistol permit: Specifically targeted at making the process onerous. If you're interested in shooting, you need to go through this entire process, and will afterwards be allowed to carry a firearm in public, all before you've actually tried to shoot one (outside of the very basic live-fire training course). Potential law abiding gun owners are very very dissuaded by this. Residency requirements: Again, no good reason. If I pass a background check, why do I need to live in X county for 3 years before I can buy or possess a firearm? Drug testing: Nassau county now requires you to submit a urine sample within 14 days of receiving the permit application. The sample must go to a lab with a certain certification, and there are _none_ in NYS, and the fee is $400. If the test results arrive to the county after 14 days, or they claim they arrived too late? Start over and pay the fee again. This has to be repeated every 2 years. On the topic of "the kind of gun you would want for mass murder": this is a boogeyman in the current media. There are ~400 deaths from _all_ semi-automatic rifles per year in the US, including suicides, justified shootings, murders, mass shootings, etc. There are tens to hundreds of millions of these weapons in circulation, yet so few deaths. More people drown in pools every year than die by rifle in the United States. We should be looking at the causes of these mass shootings, not trying to make legal access to firearms logistically impossible for all but the wealthy and well-connected.
coinbasetwwa 4y ago
Don’t forget that Nassau county, NY is now requesting that people who upgrade their pistol licenses pee in a cup to test for drugs. True insanity in NYS.
- a4a4a4a4 4y ago
  Even worse: the lab certification that the testing facility needs to have? There are _no_ labs in NYS that comply. You need to go out of state within 14 days of receiving a permit application, to have the sample collected and processed, and the results sent back, within that 14 day window.

tetromino_ 4y ago

That sounds like a reasonable set of policies, to be honest. Easy to get the kind of gun you would want as an ordinary working tool in the countryside or for home defense. Difficult and time-consuming to get the kind of gun you would want for a mass murder.

coinbasetwwa 4y ago
Semiautomatic rifles and pistols are the most commonly used guns for home and self defense by a large margin. Being behind a 2 year wait to perform the same background check the federal government can do in 30 seconds makes absolutely zero sense.
a4a4a4a4 4y ago
It's not a reasonable set of policies though, they're intentionally made to be burdensome and hard to comply with. Background check: yes, fine. However, these need to be processed quickly to have any effect. If someone is flagged, don't we want to know that sooner rather than later, even if they're blocked from buying a firearm legally? Submitting social media profiles: What defines social media? What happens if I forget a handle? Are political opinions now going to be a deciding factor in whether or not I can exercise a constitutional right? No out-of-state licenses issue: There is no good reason for this. If I'm spending time (and money) in NYS, and can otherwise possess a firearm, why am I not allowed to do this when visiting? No touching of a handgun without a pistol permit: Specifically targeted at making the process onerous. If you're interested in shooting, you need to go through this entire process, and will afterwards be allowed to carry a firearm in public, all before you've actually tried to shoot one (outside of the very basic live-fire training course). Potential law abiding gun owners are very very dissuaded by this. Residency requirements: Again, no good reason. If I pass a background check, why do I need to live in X county for 3 years before I can buy or possess a firearm? Drug testing: Nassau county now requires you to submit a urine sample within 14 days of receiving the permit application. The sample must go to a lab with a certain certification, and there are _none_ in NYS, and the fee is $400. If the test results arrive to the county after 14 days, or they claim they arrived too late? Start over and pay the fee again. This has to be repeated every 2 years. On the topic of "the kind of gun you would want for mass murder": this is a boogeyman in the current media. There are ~400 deaths from _all_ semi-automatic rifles per year in the US, including suicides, justified shootings, murders, mass shootings, etc. There are tens to hundreds of millions of these weapons in circulation, yet so few deaths. More people drown in pools every year than die by rifle in the United States. We should be looking at the causes of these mass shootings, not trying to make legal access to firearms logistically impossible for all but the wealthy and well-connected.

coinbasetwwa 4y ago

Don’t forget that Nassau county, NY is now requesting that people who upgrade their pistol licenses pee in a cup to test for drugs. True insanity in NYS.

a4a4a4a4 4y ago
Even worse: the lab certification that the testing facility needs to have? There are _no_ labs in NYS that comply. You need to go out of state within 14 days of receiving a permit application, to have the sample collected and processed, and the results sent back, within that 14 day window.