Saturday - December 13, 2008

here’s your prescription now turn in your guns

Doctors Eisen (dentist) and Gallant (optometrist) take a look at the next “reason” to disarm the public. For your own good of course.

In Nassau County, New York, a revised handgun application went into effect in January 2007. A new question asks: “Have you used or still use narcotics, tranquilizers or anti depressant [sic] medication? If YES, record doctor’s name, address and phone number, (attach).” If the applicant answers in the affirmative, a list of those medications is also required.

The new question may have been added as a means of increasing public safety, but Nassau County licensees have maintained a nearly spotless record in this area. A more likely explanation is that this could be the next practical step in denying exercise of the Second Amendment.
The recent Heller Supreme Court decision gave gun-owners a tripartite victory: firearm possession is an individual right, a complete ban on firearms is unconstitutional, and the right to self-defense with firearms is affirmed. The Supreme Court nevertheless left plenty of wiggle room for the firearm-prohibitionists, by allowing for “reasonable regulation.”

“Reasonable” is a very big word, and it opens the way to the eradication of our rights. If firearms can no longer be banned, then expanding the list of prohibited persons is the next tactic for firearm-hostile politicians to explore. That subjective factor of “reasonable” regulation could cast an extremely wide net.

There is no scientific evidence to suggest that a history of legal drug use is a valid disqualifier of firearm ownership. According to the best criminological evidence, the most accurate predictor of violent behavior is a past history of violence.

The Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) acts as the county’s handgun licensing authority; licenses issued in Nassau County are valid for 5 years, after which time they must be renewed. If licensing authorities are allowed to determine that some drugs should be firearm “disqualifiers,” and others not, we will soon discover that there is no line between which drugs are dangerous, and which are not.

Use of anti-depressants has been linked to youngsters who have gone on high-profile, but rare, mass-shooting sprees. If these drugs can cause people to suddenly “snap,” it might seem reasonable to restrict legal possession of firearms to those taking such drugs as an effective strategy to prevent violent rampages. One point on which most researchers agree is that these incidents generally occur in a susceptible group of individuals under 25 years of age.

But because locks are easily disabled, in order to prevent any access to firearms by this class of individuals, or any other susceptible group, our society would need to tightly restrict the possession and storage of all weapons—exactly the goal of the firearm-prohibitionists.

If we allow fear mongering to replace good science and sound medical care, we can make the case that most drugs Americans commonly take could be used as firearm disqualifiers. That is because virtually all drugs—prescription and over-the-counter—have been associated with psychological and neurological adverse effects.

Nassau County NY is western and central Long Island, east of Queens. It costs $200 to apply for a pistol permit there, and another $99 to get fingerprinted, so there is already a bias against the poor inherent in the process. And the waiting time is 6 months, don’t call us, thank you. The permit is good for only 5 years, at which point it costs you $200 to renew it. And the list of questions asked on the form is onerous (and I’m saying that, living here in NJ!!) Not just “where do you work?” but “list every job you’ve had for the past 5 years.” 4 references, not 1 or 2. List next of kin. Who will get your guns when you die or become disabled? Were you given a dishonorable discharge from the military? Have you had a traffic ticket in the past 5 years? Have you ever been arrested? (not convicted, just arrested) Have you ever been fired from a job? Has any family member ever been in a mental institution? I bet this is the nastiest and most intrusive gun permit form in the country. Horry Clap. Even your character references get put through the wringer, threatened with a perjury charge, and then they have to have their form notarized. Oh, and do you own any guns too? But getting this permit isn’t enough! When 6 months have gone by and you have your permit, you then need to get a Purchase Document from the cops! One per gun thanks. Wonder how much they cost? And how often you’re allowed to get one? Or how long the cops take to process them?


At first read, and it’s a short article worth reading, I thought that perhaps Drs Eisen and Gallant were clutching at straws, and maybe trying to do some scare tactics of their own. But now that I’ve read through the Nassau County forms, I accept their premise fully. If there are any questions on this interrogation form about prescription drug use, they are there for one reason: to deny you the permit. This is out of control. And now they want to use what perfectly legal prescription drugs you take - or have ever taken!! - as a reason to deny you your constitutional rights. This isn’t moonbattery. It’s far beyond that. This is the sound of the hobnailed boots kicking in your door at 3am. This is government gone wild.

Heller was no where near a strong enough decision. The Nassau County form has been in use for 2 years now; Heller was only a couple of months ago. This form already is what the NY county feels is “reasonable regulation”, because it is possible that some people can put down the right questions, have the right folks speak up for them in the proper manner, have a past purer than the freshly fallen snow AND afford to pony up what is likely the highest gun application fee in the country. But God himself can’t help them if they take or have ever taken a certain kind of medicine. And you don’t have access to the list of proscribed prescribed drugs. So what’s on the list is what we want to be on the list. For the wrong kind of person. Mandatory urine and blood samples will be next. Pretty soon nobody will be able to buy a gun in Nassau County, but that’s Ok, because it’s all just “reasonable regulation”. Have to protect the public you know. [That’s what the cops are for, right? Well sure, until you actually demand that they do so. Then they’ll trot out the court cases that say they aren’t, after all. ]

Horry Clap. And I thought it was tough here in NJ.



Oh, and you did notice the citation at the top of this post? This article was first printed in this month’s Blue Press, the combination magazine and catalog put out by Dillon Precision. They make superb reloading presses. They also make the miniguns for our military. And for readers of Vilmar’s and Rodger’s blogs, they have the new calendars ready. The ones that feature the “gun babe” you were all drooling over the other day, Cathy Rankin. You can get both large format Dillon Calendars for only $16.95, and Cathy is on the cover of one of them.

UPDATE: So much for Equal Treatment Under The Law. Rockland County NY is about the same distance west of NYC as Nassau County is to the east of NYC. But in Rockland, a pistol permit costs $10. Plus fingerprinting fees. But the permit is good forever. And you only need 2 references, not 4. I guess they don’t have people from Brady running their show like Nassau does. In between these two counties is Westchester County, which is directly north of NYC. There a pistol permit costs the same $10, but you have to recertify ever 5 years. And they will give you free gun locks if you ask for them. No mention of fingerprinting or fingerprinting costs at the Westchester web page.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/13/2008 at 10:44 PM   
Filed Under: • Government • Guns and Gun Control • Jack Booted Thugs •  
• Comments (2) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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