New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Condemns Assembly's Microstamping "Sneak Attack"

TROY, NY (03/12/2012)(readMedia)-- The inclusion of mandatory firearms microstamping technology in the state budget bill A-9055C is an underhanded attempt to pass an increasingly unpopular idea into law.

"There is absolutely no legitimate reason to include language from bill A-1157B into state budget bill A-9055C", said NYSRPA President Tom King. "According to the sponsors of A-1157B, there is no fiscal impact on state government, so why has language from that bill been cut-and-pasted into budget bill A-9055C?"

Not a single independent study has been able to demonstrate that microstamping technology actually does what proponents say it does. Many studies, including one conducted locally by the Suffolk County Crime Lab, have concluded the technology does not work. More importantly, the legislative language explicitly states that "microstamp-ready" firearms must put unique codes on spent cartridge cases on at least two places. The only way to comply with this would be a total redesign of all pistols made over the past 100+ years, if that is even possible. This is an attempt to enact a law which cannot be complied with in order to effect total prohibition.

Faced with declining support in the legislature and opposition from law enforcement, this backdoor attempt at gun control is a disgraceful sign of desperation on the part of its proponents. "The legislature knows microstamping is a fraud. Its sponsors cannot effectively make their case to their colleagues with a stand-alone bill and so are hoping to sneak it through the backdoor as part of the state budget," said King. "Their unwillingness to have an honest, open debate speaks loudly about their ideas lack of merit as well as their individual characters."