Assault Weapon Advocates: Boycott NY Gun Law

Some assault rifle owners will refuse to register weapons
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 21, 2013 11:57 AM CST
Assault Weapon Advocates: Boycott NY Gun Law
Demonstrators rally outside the Capitol in Albany, NY, on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013 to assert their right to own firearms and to denounce recent gun-control efforts.   (AP Photo/Tim Roske)

Assault rifle owners in New York aren't taking the state's new gun laws lying down: They're arranging a boycott of part of the law, with gun rights activists urging all assault rifle owners not to register their weapons. Under the new law, such weapons must be registered with police by April 2014, the New York Post reports. There are an estimated 1 million semiautomatic rifles legally owned in the state, and one of the boycott organizers says he expects "tens of thousands" to refuse to register.

It could be the biggest act of civil disobedience in New York history, organizers say. Authorities could have a hard time tracking down anyone who doesn't comply, seeing as the weapons are currently unregistered, so officials don't know where they are or who owns them. Anyone who is tracked down faces up to a year in prison and the confiscation of his or her weapon for refusing to register. Of course, any owner who's not up to boycotting could just move to Texas... (More New York stories.)

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