Publicola

In an effort to reduce lost &/or stolen guns a NY Assemblyman John Lavelle proposes a one year wait to replace any guns lost or stolen. The 'reasoning' is that if a person knows it'll be a one year wait to replace something, he'd be more careful not to lose it or allow it to be stolen. However cops would be exempt from this law.

"It's really not going to hurt the bad guys,' said one Staten Island police officer, who noted illegal guns cause the biggest problems on the streets."
"Another Island cop said it could take up to a year to replace a lost or stolen gun in any case, given the red tape involved. But he said such a law could potentially force someone to buy a gun illegally."
"Lavelle, in defending his legislation, argued, 'If you purchase a weapon, you have a responsibility to secure it. This is a penalty -- and it's not that severe a penalty'."

Let's see... a person has his gun locked up for fear of it being stolen, thus rendering his only means of defense inaccesible in an emergency. Suppose the gun is stolen anyway, say in the course of a break in while he's away. That would mean he would have to wait one year before he could replace his only means of self defense. So 365 days of praying that no one tries to harm you because you don't have the means to protect yourself is considered by Assemblyman Lavelle as being an acceptable penalty for having the bad luck of being a crime victim? Hmm, that would mean it's an acceptable punishment to not allow someone to replace a car that was stolen, money that was stolen & certain airlines should not be allowed to replace aircraft that were hijacked & used in terrorist attacks. Fascinating.