New York gun shop raided by SWAT team, without a warrant
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Fascism: A New York gun shop was raided by a SWAT team, without a warrant, and forced to turn over customer sales records.
This raid was supposedly legal under New York’s newest gun control law dubbed the SAFE act. However, under the Constitution no raid can be legal without a warrant. In addition, the store owner has repeatedly requested clarification of the law from officials in his attempt to be cooperative and legal and was still raided. He is suing.
Please consider donating to Behind the Black, by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar to the right or below. Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
Fascism: A New York gun shop was raided by a SWAT team, without a warrant, and forced to turn over customer sales records.
This raid was supposedly legal under New York’s newest gun control law dubbed the SAFE act. However, under the Constitution no raid can be legal without a warrant. In addition, the store owner has repeatedly requested clarification of the law from officials in his attempt to be cooperative and legal and was still raided. He is suing.
Mr. Palumbo would do a service to the whole country by filing a lawsuit for $100 million against the appropriate authorities for denial of his constitutional rights.
Zero reason to use a SWAT team to ask for records. An email or phone call would be just as easy and cost less money. Heck, just send a someone in to ask for the records. Has there ever been an incident of this or another gun store owner risking their lives or their livelihood by using force to prevent a government agency from asking for records?
As a gun dealer when you accept the license from the federal government you agree to allow the BATF and the BATF ONLY to review your records at any time while in your store.
They are not allowed to take them unless the gun dealer goes out of business. I don’t think they are even allowed to copy them in any way other than by hand.
This does not include the narcotics division of New York or any other state agency.
The real problem here is the fact that the Safe Act law was not defined to a sufficient degree. And that was on purpose.
All so that the state could let dealers swing in the wind so to speak about what was legal and illegal. By not defining things they left themselves the opportunity to “raid” dealers and or declare some gun owners in violation of the law.
This raid and in part this law will not stand up to scrutiny. It will be dismantled piece by piece thanks in part to the state having to finally define the law through court cases.