From: Jeremy Peter Howells, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Are we confusing New York state with New York city?
I was under the impression that the 1911 O'Sullivan Law -
which effectively bans handguns in New York - applies only
to the city of New York and not to the state.
But as you say it makes little difference as the vast
majority of gun deaths in New York City are from handguns,
which are effectively illegal there.
Its also a very good example of what happens when guns are
banned in one locality but available almost unrestricted
close by and there are no effective border controls - in
the States this applies to New York, Washington DC and
Chicago. Its alost our situation here - in the UK black
powder handguns are subject to Section 1 controls while
in France I am informed they are on unrestricted sale to
persons of 18 years and above. The same is true for other
classes of weapon in France compared to the UK.
One wonders how many cars are stopped at UK customs these
days? No wonder the pool of illegal guns in the UK is growing.
Regards
Jerry
--
The Sullivan Law applies to the whole of New York State.
There are differences, NYC and Westchester county have a
tougher licensing scheme, essentially the license has to
be renewed every five years and the application process
is more complex. In the rest of NYS the license is valid
for life, hence the article I posted recently about the
licensing officer who spends his time checking the obituary
column for deceased licensees.
The point about buying a gun in a neighbouring State is
not the same as a comparison with the UK v. France. It
is entirely lawful for a resident of the UK to purchase
a firearm in France. If it is a Category B firearm,
you need an Article 7 authority issued by the local
Chief Officer of Police, but that's it. Plus there
is nothing illegal about bringing it back if you have
the right license to possess it, and even then if you
stop at Customs and declare it, the worst that happens
is that Customs seizes it.
In the US it is entirely illegal for a resident of
one State to purchase a handgun in another State.
There are some very narrow exemptions, but they don't
apply to your average Joe. The only method is for
the gun to be sent to a dealer in the State where you
reside. With rifles and shotguns it is possible, but
I've never yet met a dealer who would do it because
the sale has to comply with the laws of _both_
States, i.e. the State the dealer is in and the
State the purchaser resides in, and a dealer can
never be sure if he has complied with the law
of the buyer's state so invariably they won't do it.
Steve.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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