Assault-rifle owners statewide are organizing a mass boycott of Gov. Cuomo’s new law mandating they register their weapons, daring officials to “come and take it away,” The Post has learned.
Gun-range owners and gun-rights advocates are encouraging hundreds of thousands of owners to defy the law, saying it’d be the largest act of civil disobedience in state history.
“I’ve heard from hundreds of people that they’re prepared to defy the law, and that number will be magnified by the thousands, by the tens of thousands, when the registration deadline comes,’’ said Brian Olesen, president of the American Shooters Supply, one of the largest gun dealers in the state.
Some folks in Albany apparently forgot how the American Revolution actually started.
The British decided they would try to learn exactly who had muskets, ball and powder -- and intended to confiscate same. They sent a force to do exactly that, and were met by 70-odd Minutemen at Lexington Common, bearing arms.
The British ordered the Colonists to surrender their weapons. The Colonists refused.
Nobody is quite sure who shot first, but that was the actual start of the American Revolution.
It did not start over "taxation without representation", although it can certainly be aruged that we are in that state today, where we are taxed but as citizens ignored, especially when it comes to the outrageous and blatant activity of various entities, whether it be banks or health care related firms.
No, the actual shooting started over something much more basic -- the Crown's attempt to confiscate firearms.
I've repeatedly had this conversation with a number of people both online and off. It is simply shocking at how poor our educational system is today when it comes to matters of basic American history. Many people believe we went to war over taxes and that was the "spark" that set off the shooting.
They're wrong.
Oh sure, taxation was a big deal -- and we're talking about taxes of a couple of percent, as opposed to the 40+% levied today when one looks at local, state and federal taxes. Certainly this, along with many other abuses, was a factor.
But the fact remains that the actual cause of armed hostilities in 1775 was an attempt to confiscate military-style weapons from the citizens.
State officials will be nervously watching the registration figures to see how many gun owners comply, sources said.
I'd be nervous too.
After all, what comes next if the citizens refuse to comply? There are only two options, really -- either the State backs down and repeals the law or attempts to enforce it.
