The guns are coming from inside the city
Police acting on information gathered by private investigators working on the city’s civil lawsuits against the gun industry have filed the first criminal charges related to the case.
Two licensed firearms dealers were charged with misdemeanor weapons offenses on Wednesday after police reviewed videotape of a sting operation conducted in connection with the suit.
Police said the dealers, Jack Togati, 40, of the DF Brothers Sport Center in Brooklyn, and Michael Spallone, 43, of the Woodhaven Rifle and Pistol Range in Queens, each illegally sold a firearm without requiring the customer to produce a valid gun license.
But I thought the problem was with out of state dealers? More:
At each store, police said, a male investigator who failed to produce a pistol permit posed as a gun buyer and paid for the weapon, while a female companion produced the required pistol license. State law requires people purchasing guns to have their own licenses.
So, were they trying to see if the other states complied with NY law?
May 26th, 2006 at 10:28 am
Now you’re just being silly. This is the kind of enforcement that gunnies are always calling for: active enforcement of current law. You should be happy about this part of Bloomberg’s efforts, even if you don’t like the rest of his gun policies.
And are you actually arguing that in-state gun violations and enforcement is evidence that out-of-state gun sales aren’t a problem? You’ve slipped into that weird mental state where everything Bloomberg does is going to annoy you, where everything he does is viewed through a distortion lens. Time to take a deep breath.
May 26th, 2006 at 10:32 am
Not at all. My point is that blaming other states is rather out of their control and that NY’s problems may actually have something to do with NY.
Also, there’s the fact that after all the press, nonsense, and law-breaking, the best they can do is a couple of misdemeanor charges on some local guys?
And, by all means, enforce the law. But I do take issue with their laws (such as the permitting system).
May 26th, 2006 at 10:41 am
P.S., any plans to resume blogging?
May 26th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
Unfortunately, I have no place to blog. The site is dormant for now. There’s still a bunch of files distributed off it from various other projects, but the blog itself isn’t coming back any time soon. It’s not my site and it’s not my call.
Bloomberg is pretty clear that NY’s gun problem is internal. He’s also clear that out-of-state guns end up illegally in NY. These things are both problems. I’d prefer fewer (or no) bans, but if we’re going to ban guns, I want the bans to be functional (if I’m going to comply, I want everybody else to do so as well).
Oh well. At least I will spend Memorial Day weekend shooting and hunting.
May 26th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
You can blog here if you want.
May 26th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
You’ve slipped into that weird mental state where everything Bloomberg does is going to annoy you, where everything he does is viewed through a distortion lens.
I’m in that mental state. The guy is a tit.
May 26th, 2006 at 6:56 pm
I’m in that mental state too. “Bloomberg” and “fascist pig” are synonymous to me.
May 28th, 2006 at 12:53 am
Ben, you are SOOOOOOOOOO wrong. There are legitmate uses for a tit. I can’t think of a one for Bloomberg.