zminer
Member
In today's TimesUnion there's the typical story about how Obama's election caused gun sales to skyrocket. The only interesting - and highly infuriating - part about it came when the author talked about how local judges were reacting to the influx of firearms license applications:
I'm extremely glad this guy isn't around anymore to be an obstructionist. What right does he have to tell someone what they can and can't do for a hobby, to say nothing of self-defense?
This view is so irrational. Think about it: let's say you've been shooting rifles for twenty years. You've got a stack of trophies, you're an NRA instructor, and you're a safety officer for your local range. Then you decide you want to try out handgunning. But this judge steps in and says, "I don't like guns, so despite the fact that you're probably the safest, most level-headed person who could ever apply for a license, I will deny it because I feel like it."
It's still tough to get a license in Albany County - I had to pay a bunch of money for a class and fingerprinting, and then miss work to appear in court to get mine - but at least it isn't actually impossible.
Does anyone else have stories from their areas about judges (or police chiefs, or sheriffs, or whomever is in charge of firearms licensing) who actively block people from obtaining firearms?
For many years, it was tough to get a judge in Albany County to sign a pistol permit.
The late County Judge John Clyne would let a stack of applications two feet high accumulate on his desk, refusing to sign any. He'd ask the applicants why they wanted a gun, and the answer was usually to take up target practice.
"Take up tennis," Clyne told them.
I'm extremely glad this guy isn't around anymore to be an obstructionist. What right does he have to tell someone what they can and can't do for a hobby, to say nothing of self-defense?

This view is so irrational. Think about it: let's say you've been shooting rifles for twenty years. You've got a stack of trophies, you're an NRA instructor, and you're a safety officer for your local range. Then you decide you want to try out handgunning. But this judge steps in and says, "I don't like guns, so despite the fact that you're probably the safest, most level-headed person who could ever apply for a license, I will deny it because I feel like it."
It's still tough to get a license in Albany County - I had to pay a bunch of money for a class and fingerprinting, and then miss work to appear in court to get mine - but at least it isn't actually impossible.
Does anyone else have stories from their areas about judges (or police chiefs, or sheriffs, or whomever is in charge of firearms licensing) who actively block people from obtaining firearms?