New York's Body Armor Ban May Be Stupidest Gun Legislation Yet from buzai232's blog

New York's Body Armor Ban May Be Stupidest Gun Legislation Yet

It's usually best to not delve into politicians' motivations lest one end up stupider for the effort. Nowhere is that truer than in the bills signed Monday by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) that, among other foolish restrictions, ban the acquisition of body armor by anybody outside of a few favored, government-controlled professions. These protective devices, incapable of offensive use unless thrown especially hard, are now unavailable for legal purchase by New Yorkers seeking even the most passive means of defending themselves and their loved ones.To get more news about hard armor panels, you can visit bulletproofboxs.com official website.

"As in far too many other mass shootings, the gunman in Buffalo went into the store wearing a bulletproof vest so he would be safe while he slaughtered innocent victims," insisted Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson. "Unless your profession puts you at risk of gun violence, there is no reason you need this kind of body armor. This bill will help keep bulletproof vests out of the hands of those who want to protect themselves from law enforcement or other security officers while harming others."

It's true that the mass-murderer at Tops supermarket in Buffalo wore body armor, as have several other criminals in recent years. The same factors that drive sales to the public at large, specifically the ability of armor to protect users from injury, make the product unavoidably attractive to people who intend harm.

A veteran Marine and former police officer in both Wyoming and Iowa, Waldrop started his company to make body armor for his fellow law enforcement officers and servicemen and women," according to a January 2021 report from Iowa's WOI about RMA Armament Inc. "And until March of 2020, 80% of his sales were law enforcement and defense contracts. The rest he said was often to veterans or tactical gear enthusiasts. Those figures are now flipped."

Company CEO Blake Waldrop attributed soaring sales to economic uncertainty and social unrest. The public wants to protect itself against the criminals who are part of that social unrest, while criminals want to protect themselves against members of the public defending themselves and against police who might, on occasion, care to intervene in crimes. New York's new law would ban body armor sales on the grounds that armor plates are sometimes used by bad guys as well as the good ones. It's the same moral cooties theory of legislation that drives gun control laws, but this time applied to passive protective devices. At the risk of giving anybody ideas, the same arguments might well apply to the cars criminals drive or any first aid gear they might carry.

Until now, the only state with body armor restrictions beyond penalizing their use in crime was Connecticut, which requires that transactions take place in-person. "It is a class B misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, to sell or deliver body armor unless the transferee meets in person with the transferor to accomplish the sale or delivery," reads that state's law, which makes exceptions for military and law enforcement personnel.
New York's new law goes further, making it a Class A misdemeanor if people "not being engaged or employed in an eligible profession…knowingly purchase or take possession of a body vest." As in Connecticut, the law exempts military and law-enforcement personnel and "such other professions designated by the Department of State."

Incidentally, New York and neighboring Connecticut both already have plenty of experience with performative and unenforceable laws seeking to restrict self-defense rights. When Connecticut in 2013 required the registration of military-looking semiautomatic rifles tagged as "assault weapons," compliance never got higher than about 15 percent. The next year, a similar law in New York scored about 5 percent compliance. It's obvious that many Americans aren't impressed by lawmakers and are unwilling to go along with their dictates.