Gun Lobby Rebuts Schneiderman and Gillibrand Claims

The Shooter’s Committee on Political Education (SCOPE) of New York says that the recent raids on gun shows by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and the subsequent legislation proposed by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand are not entirely legitimate.

SCOPE leader Stephen J. Aldstadt said, “Despite what the news reports are saying, none of those arrested where dealers, none of them paid for tables. All were walk-ins to the shows. The promoters who are being targeted by the attorney general’s office obeyed all applicable laws. They had all required signage notifying attendees of the shows that any transaction required a NICS check. In every case the promoters provided a station to get your NICS check done, with prominent signage.

“SCOPE does not support those who knowingly break the law, as seems to be the case from all the reports I’ve seen. We do not object to the law being enforced in a uniform objective manor, however it is clear that the attorney general’s office is less interested in the prosecution of these individuals then they are in using this as a political stunt to:

Advocate for greater restrictions on the law abiding gun owners and sportsmen, and
this is even more insidious,
To force legitimate businessmen out of the gun show business and close down all gun shows in the state.

“Our support for NFC Shows is not only because they are SCOPE members with a history of supporting SCOPE and gun rights in NY, but more importantly, because if we allow them to shut them down and run them out of
business then we allow them to restrict access for everyone, and push their anti-rights agenda. The next step would be to ban all private transfers. This must be stopped now, or the restrictions will continue, until we have
no rights left at all.”