New York Gun Show sale "crackdown." It's all about the

by Mark , Thursday, December 01, 2011, 18:44 (4740 days ago)

the public's safety. Thanks for the security Mr. Schneiderman. I guess all the drug dealers and theives have been caught or he would not have time for this garbage.
Mark

http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2011/nov/nov30a_11.html

A.G. SCHNEIDERMAN ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF STATEWIDE
UNDERCOVER GUN SHOW INVESTIGATION

"Operation Background Bust" Shows Blatant
Disregard for Gun Show Laws Requiring Background Checks

Vendors Sold Guns to Customers Who Disclosed They
Had Orders of Protections Against Them - Fully
Knowing They Couldn't Pass a Background Check

AG Calls On Lawmakers to Address 'Accountability-Gap' in Gun Show Law

Schneiderman: Illegal Sales at Gun Shows Endanger
the Public by Giving Felons, Terrorists and the
Dangerously Mentally Ill an Open and Anonymous
Marketplace to Buy Guns Without a Background Check

ALBANY - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman
today announced that his office has filed
criminal charges against 10 gun sellers from
across New York State who violated the state's
background check requirement for the sale of
firearms at gun shows. This investigation
exposed both a flagrant and dangerous disregard
of the law that jeopardizes the public's safety
and the need to immediately strengthen the
state’s existing gun show laws to better protect all New Yorkers.

As a result of the investigation Schneiderman's
office is also sending out cease and desist
letters to gun show operators based upon the
violations found to date. The letters direct
them to comply with the law and to cease
practices that permit gun sales without
background checks. Additionally, later today the
Attorney General will issue subpoenas to several
gun show operators seeking documentation and
testimony related to the respective gun show
events. The Attorney General's investigation is ongoing.

"The illegal sale of guns at gun shows endangers
the public by giving felons, terrorists and the
dangerously mentally ill an open and anonymous
marketplace to buy guns without a background
check. Our investigators found a blatant
disregard for the law where sellers made the
conscious decision to sell deadly weapons to
individuals who admitted they would not pass a
background check," said Attorney General
Schneiderman. "Operation Background Bust not only
exposed major flaws in the gun show laws but also
proved how ‘off the books’ operations jeopardize
public safety by making it easy for guns to fall
into the wrong hands. In addition to filing
criminal charges against the sellers, and
demanding that the gun show operators cease and
desist from engaging in illegal practices, my
office plans to work with the Legislature to hold
gun show operators liable when guns are sold at
their gun shows without the required background check. "

The Attorney General's eight-month investigation
into the practices of vendors at gun shows
throughout the State revealed that on many
occasions, weapons sellers at gun shows failed to
ensure that a National Instant Criminal
Background (NICS) check was conducted on the
prospective gun buyer, as required by state
law. These illegal sales, classified as
misdemeanors, took place even after undercover
investigators told the gun sellers that they had
orders of protection against them and could not pass a background check.

The investigation further exposed a gap in
current law which holds only the individual gun
seller, not the gun show operator, legally
accountable for failing to ensure that a
background check on the prospective gun purchaser
has been conducted. As the investigation clearly
revealed, this “honor system” for conducting
background checks at gun shows is not working and
must be supplemented with a system that also
holds the gun show operator liable when a gun
sale takes place without the required NICS background check.

Beginning in March of this year, undercover
officers from the Attorney General's office
purchased weapons from sellers at gun shows in
Erie, Genesee, Saratoga, Schoharie, Suffolk and
Washington counties. The 10 defendants charged
today chose to sell a firearm to the undercover
officer with brazen disregard for the required
NICS background check. Typically, the undercover
investigator told the seller that he had an order
of protection against him and would not be able to pass a background check.

NICS background checks are required for all gun
purchases at gun shows throughout the State, as
provided by General Business Law §897. A person
who fails a NICS background check is ineligible
to purchase or possess a gun under federal law.

...rest of the story at the link above.