longeyes
member
August 23, 2003
Council Seeks to Toughen Gun Controls
By WINNIE HU
in the aftermath of the shooting last month of Councilman James E. Davis, the City Council is pushing ahead with several
changes in New York City's gun-control laws that would make the laws, already among the toughest in the nation, more
restrictive.
The Council will hold a committee hearing on Sept. 12 on at least half a dozen bills that, if approved, would seek not only to
restrict how gun makers and dealers conduct business in New York City but also to counter a growing movement across the
nation to roll back gun-control measures.
The proposals include holding gun makers, dealers and importers liable for damages if their weapons are used to kill or injure
people in the city, as well as prohibiting gun dealers from selling more than one firearm to the same person within 90 days.
Another proposal would require gun owners in the city to obtain liability insurance.
While these gun-control proposals are not new, many Council members say they have taken on new urgency since nearly all 51
members witnessed the shooting of one of their own at City Hall on July 23. Mr. Davis, 41, of Brooklyn, was gunned down by a
political rival, Othniel Boaz Askew, in the Council chamber after Mr. Davis escorted him past City Hall metal detectors.
"There was no urgency prior to the shooting," said Peter Vallone Jr., chairman of the Public Safety Committee, which is holding
next month's hearing.
"But now there is a sense that we all want to move as quickly as possible on these bills in his memory."
The city's renewed focus on gun control is also expected to open the door for broader state legislation, in much the same way
that the city's ban on smoking in restaurants and other public places did.
"I think it would be a good thing if the city did it, and showed the state the way," said the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver,
who represents the Lower East Side.
In 2000, spurred partly by the Columbine school shootings, Gov. George E. Pataki and the state legislators passed a broad
package of gun-control laws that included raising the minimum age for obtaining a handgun permit to 21, requiring trigger locks
on new handguns and establishing a statewide "ballistic fingerprinting" database, among other things. But that was an unusual
moment of consensus.
Assembly Democrats have tended to propose sweeping gun-control measures. Senate Republicans have criticized the measures
as overly broad and unfair to hunters and others who use guns legally, preferring instead to increase penalties for those who use
guns in crimes.
"We support the federal Constitution in terms of the right to bear arms, but we have taken action to pass reasonable laws," said
John McArdle, a spokesman for the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno.
New York City's gun-control measures have long been more restrictive than those in the rest of the state. For instance, the city
requires people to obtain a permit to possess a shotgun or rifle, whereas the state requires a license only for handguns, not for
long guns.
In addition, the city sued various gun makers in 2000, claiming that illegally obtained firearms that wound up in New York City
were a public nuisance and that the manufacturers contributed to the nuisance with their marketing practices. The case is pending
in federal court, city officials say.
Patrick Brophy, a director of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, said the city's seeming intolerance for firearms
reflected the social and political culture in Manhattan and other parts of the city where relatively few residents hunted, shot or
owned guns.
"They don't have a day-to-day familiarity with guns anymore like they have with, say, cars," he said. "Guns are a useful tool, but
many people have no understanding of that tool anymore, and what they don't know, they fear."
Mr. Brophy said the group was closely watching the progress of the proposals in the Council.
Increasingly, the city's gun-control efforts have contrasted with those by other states and by federal officials. Congress is divided
over renewing a 1994 law that bans the manufacture of assault weapons. The House of Representatives has also passed a bill
that would block states and cities from suing gun makers for misuse of their weapons by others, and the Senate is considering the
proposal.
The City Council, however, has shown little hesitation in siding against gun enthusiasts. For instance, in 2000, when the National
Rifle Association proposed building a theme restaurant and game arcade in Times Square, the Council passed a resolution urging
the group not to come.
The Council speaker, Gifford Miller, said that next month's hearing would address various security issues involving guns. "My
hope is that out of the hearing process the Council will put forward gun-control measures that limit as much as possible the
number of guns on the streets," he said.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, too, has been described by his aides as "pro-gun control." In response to a question at a news
conference, the mayor said, "I don't know why people carry guns. Guns kill people."
Even if New York City adopted even stricter gun-control laws, advocates on both sides of the issue question whether that would
reduce violent crimes because so many guns are brought in from other states.
Last year, the New York Police Department seized 4,065 guns from people who had obtained them illegally or used them in
crimes. More than half of those were subsequently traced to out-of-state sales, according to police records. The .40-caliber
handgun that Mr. Askew used to shoot Mr. Davis was legally bought out of state, police officials said.
"New York City is really at the mercy of other states' weak gun laws," said Jim Kessler, policy and research director for
Americans for Gun Safety, a nonprofit advocacy group in Washington. "It's difficult to pass a stricter law that would have an
effect because the guns are being smuggled in from other states."
Councilman Vallone acknowledged the problem of illegal guns from out of state but said he believed that tightening the city's
gun-control laws would make a difference.
"People all over the country watch what New York City does, and we intend to show leadership on this issue," he said.
Councilman David Yassky, who has lobbied for more gun-control measures, said that before the shooting, it had been "an uphill
battle" to make gun control a legislative priority because the city's budget crisis was all many council members could focus on.
But he added that "certainly the shooting at City Hall opened their eyes to the gun problem in a very dramatic way."
Council Seeks to Toughen Gun Controls
By WINNIE HU
in the aftermath of the shooting last month of Councilman James E. Davis, the City Council is pushing ahead with several
changes in New York City's gun-control laws that would make the laws, already among the toughest in the nation, more
restrictive.
The Council will hold a committee hearing on Sept. 12 on at least half a dozen bills that, if approved, would seek not only to
restrict how gun makers and dealers conduct business in New York City but also to counter a growing movement across the
nation to roll back gun-control measures.
The proposals include holding gun makers, dealers and importers liable for damages if their weapons are used to kill or injure
people in the city, as well as prohibiting gun dealers from selling more than one firearm to the same person within 90 days.
Another proposal would require gun owners in the city to obtain liability insurance.
While these gun-control proposals are not new, many Council members say they have taken on new urgency since nearly all 51
members witnessed the shooting of one of their own at City Hall on July 23. Mr. Davis, 41, of Brooklyn, was gunned down by a
political rival, Othniel Boaz Askew, in the Council chamber after Mr. Davis escorted him past City Hall metal detectors.
"There was no urgency prior to the shooting," said Peter Vallone Jr., chairman of the Public Safety Committee, which is holding
next month's hearing.
"But now there is a sense that we all want to move as quickly as possible on these bills in his memory."
The city's renewed focus on gun control is also expected to open the door for broader state legislation, in much the same way
that the city's ban on smoking in restaurants and other public places did.
"I think it would be a good thing if the city did it, and showed the state the way," said the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver,
who represents the Lower East Side.
In 2000, spurred partly by the Columbine school shootings, Gov. George E. Pataki and the state legislators passed a broad
package of gun-control laws that included raising the minimum age for obtaining a handgun permit to 21, requiring trigger locks
on new handguns and establishing a statewide "ballistic fingerprinting" database, among other things. But that was an unusual
moment of consensus.
Assembly Democrats have tended to propose sweeping gun-control measures. Senate Republicans have criticized the measures
as overly broad and unfair to hunters and others who use guns legally, preferring instead to increase penalties for those who use
guns in crimes.
"We support the federal Constitution in terms of the right to bear arms, but we have taken action to pass reasonable laws," said
John McArdle, a spokesman for the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno.
New York City's gun-control measures have long been more restrictive than those in the rest of the state. For instance, the city
requires people to obtain a permit to possess a shotgun or rifle, whereas the state requires a license only for handguns, not for
long guns.
In addition, the city sued various gun makers in 2000, claiming that illegally obtained firearms that wound up in New York City
were a public nuisance and that the manufacturers contributed to the nuisance with their marketing practices. The case is pending
in federal court, city officials say.
Patrick Brophy, a director of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, said the city's seeming intolerance for firearms
reflected the social and political culture in Manhattan and other parts of the city where relatively few residents hunted, shot or
owned guns.
"They don't have a day-to-day familiarity with guns anymore like they have with, say, cars," he said. "Guns are a useful tool, but
many people have no understanding of that tool anymore, and what they don't know, they fear."
Mr. Brophy said the group was closely watching the progress of the proposals in the Council.
Increasingly, the city's gun-control efforts have contrasted with those by other states and by federal officials. Congress is divided
over renewing a 1994 law that bans the manufacture of assault weapons. The House of Representatives has also passed a bill
that would block states and cities from suing gun makers for misuse of their weapons by others, and the Senate is considering the
proposal.
The City Council, however, has shown little hesitation in siding against gun enthusiasts. For instance, in 2000, when the National
Rifle Association proposed building a theme restaurant and game arcade in Times Square, the Council passed a resolution urging
the group not to come.
The Council speaker, Gifford Miller, said that next month's hearing would address various security issues involving guns. "My
hope is that out of the hearing process the Council will put forward gun-control measures that limit as much as possible the
number of guns on the streets," he said.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, too, has been described by his aides as "pro-gun control." In response to a question at a news
conference, the mayor said, "I don't know why people carry guns. Guns kill people."
Even if New York City adopted even stricter gun-control laws, advocates on both sides of the issue question whether that would
reduce violent crimes because so many guns are brought in from other states.
Last year, the New York Police Department seized 4,065 guns from people who had obtained them illegally or used them in
crimes. More than half of those were subsequently traced to out-of-state sales, according to police records. The .40-caliber
handgun that Mr. Askew used to shoot Mr. Davis was legally bought out of state, police officials said.
"New York City is really at the mercy of other states' weak gun laws," said Jim Kessler, policy and research director for
Americans for Gun Safety, a nonprofit advocacy group in Washington. "It's difficult to pass a stricter law that would have an
effect because the guns are being smuggled in from other states."
Councilman Vallone acknowledged the problem of illegal guns from out of state but said he believed that tightening the city's
gun-control laws would make a difference.
"People all over the country watch what New York City does, and we intend to show leadership on this issue," he said.
Councilman David Yassky, who has lobbied for more gun-control measures, said that before the shooting, it had been "an uphill
battle" to make gun control a legislative priority because the city's budget crisis was all many council members could focus on.
But he added that "certainly the shooting at City Hall opened their eyes to the gun problem in a very dramatic way."
......and I WON'T go back!!!!!!
