Following the Supreme Court’s June 8 decision not to overturn gun storage requirements in San Francisco, Democrats in Albany, New York, want to require residents there to lock up their guns, as well.
The San Francisco law requires gun owners to store their guns–as in a safe or other container–or outfit them with trigger locks in the home. And this is precisely the requirement proposal discussed by Albany Assembly members.
According to the Times Union, the proposal is under consideration by the Common Council’s Public Safety Committee. Gun control advocates who point to an accidental gun death five years ago as reason for passing new controls on law-abiding citizens are pushing it.
The bill requires that all gun owners avail themselves of “safe storage,” defined as “a safe or other secure container which, when locked, is incapable of being opened without the key, combination or other unlocking mechanism and is capable of preventing an unauthorized person from obtaining access to and possession of the weapon contained therein.” It would apply to all guns–handguns, rifles, and shotguns.
The bill’s sponsor, 7th Ward Councilwoman Cathy Fahey (D), said, “It goes without saying those accidents are preventable when guns are safely locked up. It’s a tough law to disagree with because it saves lives.”
Actually, it is not a tough law with which to disagree because guns that are locked up via municipal mandate are also guns that are hard to use for self-defense. The thought of being under duress during a home invasion and simultaneously being forced to remember a combination to a safe or find the right key to open a trigger lock is a daunting one, to say the least; thus, the NRA’s position that the law “infringes on the Second Amendment right to bear arms and would almost certainly face a legal challenge” if instituted.
Gun control advocates are pushing to have a vote on the law later this week.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.