California is pulling off a vanishing act right before everyone’s eyes. The list of semiautomatic handguns available for sale there is rapidly dwindling, thanks to the state’s “Not Unsafe Handgun Roster.”
It won’t be too long before all semiautomatic handguns will be banned from sale in California – a step closer to gun control’s ultimate goal of banning lawful civilian firearm ownership.
The California “Not Unsafe Handgun” law enacted in 2001 started a slow motion statewide handgun ban.
The ban picked up momentum in May of 2013 when the 2007 law requiring microstamping on all new pistols became effective upon then-Attorney General Kamala Harris certifying microstamping technology was unencumbered by patent restrictions
. There were 967 models available for lawful purchase when the roster was certified less than a decade ago. Today, there are under 250 available models, when different paint schemes are considered.
California Dreaming
California’s lawmakers started the process of denying citizens the ability to purchase modern semiautomatic handguns with legislation introduced in 1999.
The law, introduced as SB 15, required that any handgun that is sold in the state, and capable of being concealed, must be tested by a certified laboratory and determined to be “not unsafe.”
The criteria in 2001 was that every handgun had to contain three “safety” features, including an indicator that shows if a cartridge is present in the chamber, a mechanism that prevents a firearm from discharging when the magazine is removed or not present and the third is to incorporate unworkable microstamping technology.
The problem is that microstamping just doesn’t work. Microstamping is the theoretical notion that a firearm would impart an identifying code on the cartridge it expends, primarily from the firing pin on the primer.
In theory, this would allow law enforcement to connect spent cartridge cases collected at crime scenes with a particular firearm by matching the identifying code.
In practice, it doesn’t work. The inventor of the technology, Todd Lizotte, who holds the sole-source patent to etch microscopic codes on the face of a firing pin, agreed that the technology wasn’t ready for widespread commercial use.
Lizotte admitted that alphanumeric codes are often illegible under even perfect conditions. Electron microscopes couldn’t detect legible codes in testing. Even in laboratory settings, it would take at least 10 spent cartridges to make an “educated guess” to piece together a legible code. Third-party researchers agreed.
Facts Be Damned
It doesn’t take much to defeat microstamping. The technology can easily be negated with sandpaper or a nail file as the mark is only 25 microns (half the diameter of a human hair). Criminals already obliterate serial numbers etched into a firearm frame.
California lawmakers ignored that, passing another mandate in 2020 that every handgun must incorporate single-placement microstamping. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law in 2020 that reduced the marking requirement to a single location but sped up the roster. For every one handgun that would be added, three would come off.
There have been no new models added to the roster since 2013, thanks to this mandate and the state’s interpretation that even minor cosmetic changes constitute a new model requiring microstamping.
The list of handguns available for sale, however, has shrunken considerably – by nearly 75 percent. It will only pick up speed. Starting in July, the requirement for three handguns to come off the list goes into effect.
The trifecta of an unworkable requirement, a self-defeating mandate and a shrinking pool of commercially-available firearms means Californians are witnessing a slow motion ban on an entire class of firearms before their very eyes.
NYPD police officer’s mother answers door at her home, gets shot dead in broad daylight
QUEENS, NY – An NYPD police officer’s mother was shot and killed after answering her door in Queens.
Anna Torres was shot by a man who lured her to the door. She was home with relatives when the shooting occurred and was pronounced dead at the scene. The alleged killer, Giuseppe Canzani, took off after the shooting but later surrendered to police.
A 51-year-old mother of an NYPD officer was pronounced dead at her Queens residence Wednesday afternoon after being fatally shot, police said.
Police said they responded to the home on 109th Avenue around 2:26 p.m. and found Anna Torres shot multiple times. pic.twitter.com/enPejC7f0A
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) May 5, 2022
Canzaniwas arrested outside the police station. According to police, he was charged with murder and criminal possession of a loaded weapon.
NYPD Deputy Chief Jerry O’Sullivan said,
“The male exited the vehicle, pulled out a firearm and placed it on the sidewalk.
There were two officers in front of the precinct for station-house security.
The officers successfully handcuffed the individual and removed the firearm away from the subject.”
The motivation for the murder is still not known.
The mother of a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer was shot to death after being ambushed at her front door Wednesday around 2:30 p.m.
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 5, 2022
Police say that Torres and Canzani knew each other “to some extent.” However, it is not clear why Canzani allegedly shot and killed Torres.
Police officials stated that Canzani expressed to investigators that Torres had tried to kill him with her curses.
“They tried to kill me.
I am supposed to be dead already.”
NYPD officials noted that is not connected to her son’s profession as a police officer.
Canzani has no prior arrests on record.
Days prior to the shooting, neighbors remarked that they saw a man who resembled Canzani at Torres’s home. They were seen arguing yet. Neighbors are unsure what the commotion was about.
Torres’s husband, David Aguilar, said he didn’t know why anyone would go after his wife.
“My son is the same way.
He’s good with everyone.
He’s fair.
She was the sweetest person in the world.
I’m lost without her.
I don’t even want to say on the news what I want.
They should let him go and I’ll take care of him.”
The mother of an NYPD officer was fatally shot at her Queens home on Wednesday afternoon after answering her door – and her alleged killer surrendered to police about an hour later, authorities said.https://t.co/JmIbdY7rdR
— James A. Gagliano (@JamesAGagliano) May 5, 2022
Neighbors are shocked at the shooting that took place.
Alam Shofi said,
“This is unbelievable.
It’s so quiet and so nice.
Everyone knows each other.
I’ve been here almost 6 years.
Never, nothing happened.”
Another neighbor, Patricia Tominelli, commented,
“It’s scary that our family lives here.
Our grandparents live next door.
You don’t know was it a home invasion or not;
you don’t know what it is.”
There have been three prior non-fatal shootings reported this year in the precinct. This is the first fatal shooting this year.
NYPD asks for help looking for culprits in the brutal beating of a 14-year-old boy in a Brooklyn train station
BROOKLYN, NYC – On March 14, a 14-year-old boy was attacked and beaten in a Brooklyn train station.
Video footage recorded by the attackers and posted on social media from the scene shows the young victim being assaulted while walking to a train.
The boy was punched and kicked while his seven attackers brazenly recorded the attack. The boy attempted to protect himself from the punches. When the boy hit the ground, his attackers continued to viciously and repeatedly kick and punch him.
Police said the boy suffered trauma to the head and body.
Anyone with information about this incident is being asked to contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
Brutal attacks across the city have become too familiar to users of the transit system.
On February 24, a homeless man used a hammer to repeatedly hit a 57-year-old man in the head. Nina Rothschild, a New York City Health Department Scientist, suffered a fractured skull from the incident and was robbed of her purse. The homeless man has since been charged with attempted murder, assault, and robbery.
According to Police,
“The individual then brandished a hammer and struck the victim several times on the head before he took her purse.
The individual fled the scene on foot, southbound on Queens Plaza South.”
https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1483500361294000131
Since the election of Mayor Adams, major felony offenses have jumped 45.2 percent compared to data from last year at this time. Transit crimes have skyrocketed 75 percent as well.
In February, Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul announced plans to fix the homelessness and mental health problem causing crime rates to soar in New York City’s subways.
The 17-page plan revealed that 30 “Joint Response Teams” with staff from the Department of Health, the Department of Homeless Services, the NYPD, and from within the local community will be in place to help.
It says,
“And while we know homelessness and violence do not equate and must not be conflated, we must also acknowledge that a small minority of individuals who may be experiencing several compounding challenges at once, including behavioral health challenges, must be reached with immediate interventions to prevent deterioration and potential danger.
We have seen the lives of innocent New Yorkers taken, simply coming into a station to take a train.
We have seen threats and dangerous situations that make our communities feel unsafe – whether people are going to work, returning home, or visiting our city.
We cannot allow that to continue.”
Adams blames the pandemic for exacerbating homelessness and mental health issues. He also sees a correlation between these issues and an increase in violence that has enveloped the city.
Welcome to police-defunded NYC, where 29 people were shot last weekend and crime continues to skyrocket
NEW YORK CITY – 29 people were shot Friday through Sunday during a violent weekend in New York.
Friday, nine people were shot, followed by 13 on Saturday and an additional seven on Sunday.
New York police crime data shows that between March 19 and March 20, 2021, there were six reported shootings.
The numbers are now up 383% compared to last year. Only one person was murdered during the same three-day period in 2021.
This violence all took place one week after Mayor Eric Adams’s rollout of his anti-gun units began patrolling various neighborhoods. These units comprised of approximately 169 police from the Neighborhood Safety Teams are focusing their patrols on neighborhoods with heavy gun violence.
Mayor Adams said:
“We’re going to stop the river of violence that is feeding this sea of violence.
And this team is damming one of those rivers with their activity.
And we’re going to expand these teams to five of the precincts to protect our streets and our community.
We are going to grow and continue to evaluate, determine that we’re making the right fit to have the right officers that are performing this dangerous assignment but have the right mindset to do so.”
According to the New York Post, some residents have reservations about the new units.
Joseph Burachio, a business owner in Queens said:
“What happened to the term ‘undercover?
Why are old terms being replaced with new terms that have twice as many syllables?
I don’t know if this new team will be a good thing but something has to be done.
Crime rates are elevated. Crazy is elevated. Something needs to change.
Juveniles are getting away with murder and people don’t feel safe.
Go on the subway and you’re taking your life in your own hands.”
In January, Mayor Adams outlined his 15-page plan to end gun violence in New York.
The plan states:
“The Adams Administration has made public safety and justice its highest priorities – knowing these are prerequisites to prosperity in our city.
Mayor Adams came into office determined to remove guns from our streets, protect our communities, and create a safe, prosperous city for all New Yorkers.
This blueprint lays out immediate action towards that vision.”
It then adds:
“In 2021 alone, the NYPD removed more than 6,000 guns off New York City streets.
In the first weeks of 2022, officers have already removed 350 illegal guns…
It will require significant action from all levels of government to stop the flow
of guns into our city.”
Since New York continues to see an escalation in crime and gun violence, Mayor Adams spoke with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Together they are seeking to collaborate on combating rising violence in their cities.
Two crime-ridden cities with excessively high gun violence have leaders who are not responding to the daily assaults and vicious attacks.
Adams’ predecessor, de Blasio’s, soft on crime tactics were a complete failure and led to the influx in crime that is destroying New York City.
While Adams campaigned as a moderate and in support of law-and-order he is on the receiving end of much criticism. Crime rates are soaring and last weekend’s numbers are evidence that his plan isn’t working.
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