Posted on 04/30/2009 1:33:36 PM PDT by neverdem
Bill awaits Senate action to help trace pistols; opponents question cost, effectiveness
ALBANY — As the state Assembly passes a number of gun control measures, members of the newly Democratic state Senate joined gun control advocates to push for a proposal to mandate "microstamping" on semiautomatic pistols sold in the state. "This is a tough-on-crime, smart-on-crime proposal," said Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-New York City, who is shepherding the measure through the Senate.
The plan, originally put forth by Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel, D-Great Neck, already passed in the lower house, where Democrats hold a 109-to-41 majority.
But with the Senate this year under a new 32-to-30 Democratic majority, advocates are hoping microstamping and other gun measures will pass there as well.
Microstamping is a process in which lasers put a distinctive mark on a weapon's firing pin. That mark is then etched into each cartridge casing when the gun is fired. Supporters including police and prosecutors say it could help them better match shell casings to a given weapon.
But the plan has opponents too, including representatives of gun manufacturers who question whether the stamps couldn't be tampered with by criminals.
Others say they fear it would add to the cost of weapons, although proponents say microstamping would add a few dollars at most.
Either way, some of the upstate-downstate divisions on this issue were on display at the Capitol on Wednesday.
Shortly after the news conference promoting microstamping, gun enthusiasts — including many from upstate — gathered at the Capitol to lobby lawmakers against enacting the proposal.
The Schneiderman-Schimel proposal would mandate microstamping for handguns made after Jan. 1, 2011.
California has passed a similar law that takes effect in 2010.
Rick Karlin can be reached at (518) 454-5758 or rkarlin@timesunion.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
How hard would it be to Dremmel the microstamp off the pin?
Or to obliterate it with a dab of hard silver solder...
About 1 or 2 dozen rounds through it has, IIRC, been proven to remove it. Just moron politicians placating idiot voters, nothing to see here, move along...
Or to replace the firing pin. Not hard at all, but I think you know that's not the point of the legislation.
Translation: "when my stupid idea doesn't accomplish anything demonstrably productive, I'll get even more meaningless laws passed so that stupid Obama-voters will vote me back into office."
The company pushing this has the sole patent for this technology.
Expect at least $100 cost (and price) additions for each firearm with this technology, for research, development, testing and manufacturing costs.
Not very, but there’s no need to do even that when the microstamp isn’t registered to you but to the person you stole it from. Or more likely, isn’t registered at all because it was originally stolen in another state without this requirement.
Being more creative, how hard would it be to pick up microstamped brass at a public range and drop it at the crime scene?
How about just replace the firing pin? They’re usually pretty common replacement parts for any firearm.
Or just buy a revolver.
anyone???
You could always just pick up your brass or use a revolver so the casings won’t eject until you want them to. It’s really a stupid idea if anyone just thinks about it. Then again, we’re talking about legislators.
File meet firing pin.
If I were inclined to preplanned criminal activity and I owned a weapon covered under this proposed law, you can bet I’d have the semiautomatic pistol equivalent of keeping two sets of books: multiple barrels, firing pins and extractors. One set for storage and one set for “business.”
Schimel and Schneiderman. I’m continually amazed, though no longer surprised, that the demographic that was nearly made extinct by state murder is always the one crying the loudest to make the next round of state murder easier.
Even if they "microstamped" spare parts, firing pins would have to be about the very easiest piece of any weapon for a shade-tree machinist to replicate, if not mass produce. There may be a few weapons with inertial pins or some other manufacturing complications, but I doubt it's that many...
Just use a revolver.
There’s a video before the NY state senate, where a firearm industry representative replaces every micro-stamped part of a pistol in less than a minute.
Barrel, firing pin, etc.
And hopefully they’ll do in the same way that Ronnie Barrett did when the LAPD used one of his 50 caliber rifles as a prop for getting the 50-caliber ban passed in CA :D
The legislation probably has a provision that make it an offense to possess a gun which does not have an operational micro-stamping ability. This then turns into a way to convict a legal gun owner who defended himself with a gun whose microstamping had worn away.
They’ll pass a law requiring that revolvers be left at the scene of the crime.
You hit the salient point in all of this. For this scheme to work (solve crimes) the govt. has to know who actually owns the gun. That requires registration does it not? Camel’s nose under the tent.
Wonder how much these guys got greased by the sole technology provider?
Hmmm.... What about the gazillion guns out there already?
This is intended to staft you, not criminals.
So the question isn’t how it effects criminals, it’s how does it effect you.
Just one more requirement to make gun ownership a hassle is my guess.
Just take the firing pin and stroke it on a piece of emery cloth. Works wonders. and the breach face can be cleaned of microstamps the same way.
Or police your brass.
In the not so distance future...
Knock Knock. Mr Yokel, this is the police. You’re under arrest for accessory to 1st degree murder. You allowed your handgun to be stolen.
Yep, just another way to hassle legal gun owners and manufacturers. Criminals won’t be affected one bit.
I hope the idiot company that is pushing this micro-stamping idea on state governments loses every cent they have.
or after you empty your cylider, you must open it and expend all the used casings.
why would you hope that?
How much you wanna bet that the doofusses that are in favor of this think that this will somehow mark the actual projectile?
Remember, these laws are proposed by idiots who know nothing about guns.
Cause we all know the Criminals will follow the law and not modify their guns......
[I don’t think I need to even bother with a /sarc tag here, this is so freakin ridiculous]
this is absurn some guns are known for having pins that break.
Spare pins are like spare springs.
What next, a seperate license for each tire on your automobile?
Pencil sharpener carbon foot print tax?
It is always interesting that those who want to tax the most fear the second amendment the most.
Pathetically Stupid.
Patently Offensive.
And, at the same time, chillingly frightening.
These gasbags won’t stop until they are made, physically, to stop, IMO.
It’s time to take back the country.
We need to micrstamp every bic pen! Words can cause riots after all!
you would deny guns to the very people charged with seeking out and stopping these criminals.
to my knowledge, no police officer has ever written or voted to pass a piece of legislation. hamstringing cops is no solution to the idiocy of bureaucrats.
innocent people being unable to defend themselves from criminals is another issue. let's deal with that.
No, my logic is perfectly sound. If certain firearms are so dangerous that the public shouldn’t be allowed to have them, the government doesn’t need them either for the same reason.
How is this more effective than the serial numbers that are already on the gun? Those numbers can be filed off and can still be recovered from the pressure patterns made in the metal by the stamping.
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IMHO, there's too much that we don't know, and there's too much fear mongering on both sides of the political spectrum. Imagine the independents and moderates. They must be going dizzy!
FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list.
A sawed-off and filed-down drill bit makes an excellent firing pin for many pistols.
I can't imagine what their strategy sessions are like now. They move to the right on gun control and abortion with their candidates for the Senate and the House for the 2006 and 2008 elections.
Now, they get Snarlin' Arlen to defect because the GOP is too beholden to social conservatives, and they are demonizing veterans and all kinds of conservatives in Dept. of Homeland Security documents.
Their contradictions are simply amazing.
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