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West Potsdam Volunteer Fire Company among 23 gun show operators in state to sign up for ‘Model Gun Show Procedure'

Posted 3/14/13

POTSDAM – West Potsdam Volunteer Fire Company is among 23 gun show operators across the state to follow the Attorney General’s Office’s new “Model Gun Show Procedures.” The initiative aims …

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West Potsdam Volunteer Fire Company among 23 gun show operators in state to sign up for ‘Model Gun Show Procedure'

Posted

POTSDAM – West Potsdam Volunteer Fire Company is among 23 gun show operators across the state to follow the Attorney General’s Office’s new “Model Gun Show Procedures.”

The initiative aims to promote uniform gun show operations across the state, including a rule that ensures all guns brought into the gun show by private sellers are tagged so that, upon exiting, the operator can determine if guns were sold and that a proper background check was performed.

In a recent article with NorthCountryNow.com Bob Phillips who organizes a gun show for the Parishville Sportsmen’s Club, said St. Lawrence County gun shows already adhered to a higher standard than the law requires.

That story can be seen here.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said his office reached agreements with 23 gun show operators across the state to follow the "Model Gun Show Procedures" developed by the Attorney General's Office

West Potsdam Volunteer Fire Company was among the 23 operators that oversee more than 50 currently scheduled shows and gun auctions in New York this year, according to a release issued by Schneiderman.

He said the operators represent over 80 percent of the shows in the state.

The process is ongoing, with the goal of universal adoption of the procedures in the state by the end of this year, the release said.

“Gun violence is everyone's concern, and I’m proud that we’ve worked with gun show operators to create simple procedures to ensure that deadly weapons don't make it into the hands of felons, terrorists, the dangerously mentally ill, or anyone else who could not pass a background check,” Schneiderman said. “These procedures are unique to New York State and represent the first time law enforcement and gun show operators are working together to eliminate illegal gun sales. Since most people who operate and attend gun shows are law abiding citizens, my office has had nothing but positive responses to these new safety standards.”

He said the “Model Procedures” go beyond the requirements of the state’s Gun Show Law, including a process that ensures all guns brought into the gun show by private sellers are tagged so that, upon exiting, the operator can determine if guns were sold and that a proper background check was performed.

Attorney General Schneiderman’s agreements are with operators who run gun shows in Akron, Albany, Alexander, Allegany, Batavia, Caledonia, Canandaigua, Cheektowaga, Clarence, Clayton, Clifton Park, Clyde, Elmira, Fillmore, Geneseo, Lake George, Lisle, Middletown, North Geneva, Oneonta, Port Crane, Rochester, Salamanca, Sanitaria Springs, Saratoga Springs, Sidney, Springville, Syracuse, Unadilla, Wales Center, Watkins Glen, Westfield, West Potsdam and White Plains.

The development of the Model Procedures grew out of Attorney General Schneiderman’s 2011 investigation of gun shows around the state.

This investigation uncovered the frequent occurrence of private sales without background checks.

Following that discovery, the Attorney General's Office and several gun show operators worked together to develop the Model Procedures, which balance the rights of the sportsmen and gun collectors with the need to protect the public from the sale of guns to people who cannot pass a background check, also known as a "National Instant Criminal Background Check System" or "NICS.”

The Model Procedures require operators to do the following:

• Post conspicuous signs throughout the shows, and give written notice to all dealers that New York State law requires that a National Instant Criminal Background Check be completed before the transfer of a gun at a gun show, including on the grounds of the show.

• Require that all guns brought into the gun show by private sellers are tagged so that, upon exiting, the operator can determine if the guns were sold and a NICS was performed.

• Provide access to a dealer who is authorized to conduct a NICS at cost.

• The dealer performing the NICS shall complete and file the ATF Form 4473 and maintain the forms for inspection by law enforcement agencies for ten years, per the Gun Show Law.

• Limit the number of access doors at the show so that sellers and buyers have to enter and exit through an area where the NICS procedures can be monitored.

• Use reasonable means to prevent illegal gun sales outside of the building, including the parking lot.

• Alert local law enforcement that a show will be held in their area, request periodic patrols in the parking lots to deter illegal sales, and call them if illegal sales are observed or suspected.