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When I first read a recent OBSERVER story about New York State's Concealed Carry Improvement Act I expected like much of what happens in New York, that it would not be an improvement. The law went into effect in early September and essentially required the state to withdraw from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms national background check to one run by the New York State Police.
The law levies a $9 fee for a background check each time a firearm is purchased and a $2.50 fee for a background check each time ammunition is purchased.
According to local gun shop owners the system's website is prone to crashing and when the help line is called no one answers. This problem is causing frustrated customers to cross the border into Pennsylvania where some degree of sanity still exists to buy their ammunition.
Shop owners claim that they have suffered a serious loss of business and gun owners say that their gun permit for which they were extensively investigated should serve as their background check for the purchase of ammunition. One handgun safety instructor who buys ammunition in balk recently found himself on a "terrorist watch list" because of that.
All of this is the result of the actions of downstate liberal Democrats and a complicit governor to do everything possible to circumvent our Second Amendment rights. In New York City it is virtually impossible to acquire a concealed carry permit unless you have an in with a politician. I was reminded of this recently when I saw security camera footage of a young well-dressed couple walking down a New York City street. They had apparently just left a wedding reception and were probably walking to their car. They were approached by a young boy who began harassing the man who attempted to fend him off. Then the boy stabbed the man repeatedly in the heart, and he fell to the ground and died in front of his girlfriend. Had one of the couple had been armed the outcome might have been different.
I happened to read a story in the most recent issue of the Washington Examiner entitled "The Changing Face of Gun Ownership."
The gist of the story is that in the past gun ownership was associated with white Republican men. However, following the turmoil and uncertainty created by the death of George Floyd, the 2020 election and radical George Soros backed prosecutors enforcing no cash bail agendas which has led to increasing theft and violence in American cities that stereotype is changing. Gun ownership is increasing among white women and African Americans men and women.
According to a National Firearms Shooting Spots survey the percentage of gun ownership among Black Americans is now at 25% up from 14% just six years earlier. The reasons cited for this change include slow response time by underfunded and understaffed police departments and the need these citizens see to protect themselves in their own homes.
It should also be noted though that Black Americans admit that there are other reasons for their increased purchase of firearms that stem from race-based shootings such as occurred in Buffalo in May 2022.
When will liberal politicians and other gun control advocates realize that taking legally owned firearms out of the hands of law abiding and well-trained gun owners will not solve the problem of gun violence? It is a fact that school shootings and the like are conducted by individuals who come into possession of their weapons illegally or are stolen from a family member.
Virtually all of the killings and gun violence presently occurring on our city streets is the result of illegally acquired firearms. It might bring joy to some gun control advocates to take away legally owned guns from American Citizens, but it will not solve the problem of gun violence.
Finally, I agree with presidential candidate and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott that much of the violence on our city streets is the result of the destruction of the African American family beginning when Lyndon Johnson's Great Society policies essentially eliminated the father in the African American family. According to the National Center for Fathering 57.6% of Black children grow up in homes without a father. It is a fact that all children, both boys and girls, benefit not only from the presence of a strong female role model but also from the presence of a strong involved father figure in their lives.
Perhaps the most important way to end school shootings and the violence and killing on our streets is to strengthen the American family. I think it would be worth a try.
Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com