SAFE Act Non-Compliance?

Yesterday marked the deadline for New Yorkers to register their newly defined “assault rifles” in compliance with the SAFE Act. However, it seems New York firearms owners are not submitting to the legislation peacefully. It is presumed by several sources that as many as 90% of the estimated 1.5 million applicable firearms have yet to be registered.

The SAFE Act, which passed in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy in January 2013, enacted a ban on “assault rifles,” defining them as any semiauto rifle using a detachable magazine and two or more of these features:

• Folding or telescoping buttstock.
• Pistol grip.
• Bayonet mount.
• Flash suppressor, or barrel threaded to accept a flash suppressor.
• Grenade launcher.

The “assault weapon” definition in New York is not limited to rifles. Semi auto shotguns may also be considered “assault weapons” under the SAFE Act definition if they have at least two of these features:

• Folding or telescoping buttstock.
• Pistol grip.
• Fixed magazine with capacity in excess of five rounds.
• Ability to accept a detachable magazine.

Pistols are also subject to the new “assault weapon” restrictions the SAFE Act establishes. A pistol may be considered an “assault weapon” in New York if it can accept a detachable box magazine and has at least two of these features:

• Utilizes a magazine that attaches outside of the pistol grip.
• A threaded barrel that can accept suppressors, barrel extensions, or foregrips.
• A barrel “shroud” that, by partially or completely circling the barrel, could protect the firearm’s wielder from being burned when gripping the gun near the barrel.
• A manufactured weight of 50.0oz. (unloaded).

The SAFE Act even goes so far as to prohibit semiauto versions of automatic firearms (whether pistol, rifle, or shotgun). It continues to provide a list of explicitly prohibited firearms, including most AK and AR style rifles, as well as some “machine pistols.”

While the SAFE Act increased the number of firearms prohibited in New York, it included a clause to grandfather in extent firearms that would, by the new legislation, be defined as “assault rifles,” provided that the owners registered each applicable firearm by April 15th, 2014. Failure to do so could result in misdemeanor charges for the “assault weapon(s)” owner. Despite that, it has been reported that, in response, many New York firearms owners are tearing up or even burning the registration paperwork in a statement of non-compliance with the SAFE Act.

If you were (or are) a New Yorker in this circumstance, what would you do? Comply? Move? Or join in protest with your own acts of non-compliance?

Featured image courtesy of contributor anankkml via freedigitalphotos.net