New York Second Amendment advocates organized a massive gun registration form burning event to protect stringer new rules in the state that are part of the SAFE Act . The Saratoga Springs gun owners reduced thousands of the forms to mere ashes in the act of civil disobedience.
Gun owners in the state only have until April 15 to register all semi-automatic rifles which are now deemed “military style assault weapons” under the law which opponents strongly feel infringes upon the Second Amendment. To publicly show their angst about the SAFE Act, thousands of New York gun owners rallied at the Saratoga-Wilton Elks Lodge to set the “assault weapons” form on fire. NY2A gun rights group founder Jake Palmateer organized the event. “Evidence is clear that registration leads to confiscation,” Palmateer said.
New York resident Evan Hempel was so infuriated by the dictates in the SAFE Act he created the NYSAFEResolutions.com website to record the opposition by local counties to the gun control law.
Hempel had this to say about the SAFE Act:
“It is a law forced on rural New Yorkers by a liberal elite who oppose the principles of the Constitution. The majority of the state wants a hands-off, non-intrusive government, which does not interfere with their right to bear arms or crush business with harmful regulation.”
The New York gun control law is also being touted as the primary reason why so many firearms manufacturers fled the state. Less than a year after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the SAFE Act into law, the great firearms exodus has begun. American Tactical Imports (ATI) was among the first to leave the state. ATI decided to invest nearly $3 million in a new facility in South Carolina, creating 117 jobs in the Southern state.
Meanwhile, Magpul Industries, one of the largest gun companies in America, is the latest company to grab some boxes and packing tape and head for the door, and will leave Colorado. The manufacturer recently announced that it would be resuming operations in Texas and Wyoming. Magpul cited the passage of new gun control laws that would drastically decrease the sale of firearms accessories as their reason for moving.
“@Mike_USPatriot: FANTASTIC: NY gun owners BURN gun registration forms http://t.co/HlwsBEbtCs pic.twitter.com/R6sMgELUtf” #dontgiveup #SadState
— Mike Dowling (@_MDowling) March 18, 2014
Chief operating officer Doug Smith said about the relocation:
“These dual moves will be carried out in a manner that ensures our operations and supply chain will not be interrupted and our loyal customers will not be affected.”
Richard Fitzpatrick, chief executive officer of Magpul had this to say about the gun control law:
“Moving operations to states that support our culture of individual liberties and personal responsibility is important. This relocation will also improve business operations and logistics as we utilize the strengths of Texas and Wyoming in our expansion.”
The NY2A founder also said about 3,000 military style assault weapons have been registered so far in New York, which is home to approximately several hundred thousand such rifles.
[Image Via: Fox News San Diego ]