To tell you the truth, I don't know what to think either but that is what has happened in NY. It appears that the owners of 5 of 11 guns shops in certain county have been arrested, I think the article said for essentially selling assault rifles. NY State still has assault weapons and hi-cap magazine bans. Read about it here:
http://www.liherald.com/stories/Five-charged-with-selling-assault-weapons,30880?page=1&content_source=
There is no love lost between myself and the owner and employees of one of these gun shops. I think they are scum but that is for personal reasons related to their selling practices and my opinion that they lack ethics. Hmm, maybe that could explain how they got themselves into this pickle, then again, I am a true believer that everyone should get their day in court and that they are innocent until proven guilty and that goes way beyond my personal feelings toward someone. Just because I don't like someone does not make them guilty in my eyes.
As for one of the other shop owners, heck I jut bought a rifle from them 2 weeks ago at the White Plains gun show. Now that rifle may actually well have been used in military assaults and quite possibly could be properly termed as an assault rifle due to its history. It is one of the dreaded Mosin Nagant 91/30 assault rifles. Said shop owner and a couple to a few of his employees were arrested in this operation. That is too bad because they seemed like nice, polite, knowledgeable folks when it came to selling firearms. Their shop had a reputation for iffy sales based on legal issues however, as I understand it, they are new to the shop having taken it over recently. I hope they were not targeted based on someone elses reputation. You can see, in the article where it says:
"Rice showed a video of one instance in which an undercover policeman filmed a conversation with Tretola, inside of one of his stores, where he demonstrated to the officer how to remove the temporary pin from the fixed stock of the gun, making it collapsible –– and illegal."
Mr. Tretola is the gun shop owner of the gun shop about which I was just writing. Well, if he actually removed that pin or even if he actually demonstrated how to do it to make the weapon illegal, then maybe he is guilty. Of course, it is always good to know all the information. Here is a bit more on that:
"“What this means is you take that pin out, I’m telling you you’re in trouble with this gun,” Tretola told the officer."
Does that change things at all or does it confirm criminal intent? District Attorney Kathleen Rice thinks there is absolutely no question that this statement confirms Mr. Tretola's criminal intent as can be seen in this statement:
"There's no question that Mr. Tretola knew what he was doing,” said Rice. “He knew exactly what the state of the law is here in New York state, and was selling weapons and giving people the information they needed to violate the law."
I suppose that seeing only one side or one explanation for a statement is her prerogative as a prosecutor. Being that I am open to see all possibilities due in some large part to the investigative nature of my psyche, I do see another possibility. Just again read the statement that Mr. Tretola is alleged to have made. Could that be seen as a warning to someone not to take out the pin so as not to violate the law? I think it could be that but then again I do not have all the facts so I cannot judge on the mere bit of evidence that is available to me. Of course, a lot depends on the use of the word "temporary" in her statement. If the pin was temporary then shame on Mr. Tretola; if however it was affixed permanently but still could be removed with some deal of work, then maybe there was no violation and he was just giving a warning. All the relative facts are needed to make judgement. As I said, they will have their day(s) in court and if guilty should pay but if not guilty should be set free. The law is the law and if it stinks then we need to change it not violate it in most instances unless it is tyrannical and making people suffer, then maybe we can and should violate it as did the Founding Fathers of our nation.
As for me, I am soon off to the gun show in Middletown, NY. I imagine it will be a few tables less than usual because I think at least one of the gun stores involved in the arrests was supposed to have had tables there. Oh well, there will be others. Too bad about all this, too bad about NYS still having what I believe to be such an unconstitutional law on the books, to bad if someone broke that law or would be willing to do so, too bad that many in government seemingly do not understand why the 2nd Amendment is in the Constitution. It is there so we never forget that We the People can arm ourselves against tyranny and to insure that the government never forgets it either. This would lead one to believe that the Founding Fathers saw absolutely nothing wrong with assault weapons because, at least in some instances, they saw absolutely nothing wrong with assaulting government. There is, or should be, no doubt they wanted We the People to be well prepared, by being well armed, should it ever again come to a time such as: "When in the Course of human events...".
All the best,
Glenn B
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