As U.S. shooting sports athletes prepare for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, New York law is burdening target shooters in the Empire State. The problem stems from New York’s ham-fisted, and unconstitutional, ban on commonly-owned semiautomatic pistols, which prevents athletes from accessing and training with the sporting equipment they need to compete in the shooting sports and for Team USA.
New York law prohibits the manufacture, transportation, disposition, and possession of so-called “assault weapons.” Those found in mere possession of such a firearm can be convicted of a Class D felony, punishable by three to seven years imprisonment. (NY PENAL §§ 265.02, 265.10).
Gun owners will be familiar with many of the firearms captured under New York’s definition of “assault weapon” – such as America’s most popular rifle, the AR-15. However, the state’s wide-ranging and foolish definition captures whole swaths of firearms ill-suited for misuse by even the most desperate or determined criminal.
Specifically, NY PENAL § 265.00 defines “assault weapon” to include:
(c) a semiautomatic pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following characteristics:
…
(iv) capacity to accept an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip
This definition sweeps in a host of semi-automatic target shooting pistols. These pistols often have 5-round box magazines that attach to the firearm outside the grip – which on target pistols is not angled in the same manner as on more conventional pistols. Those seeking to better understand the configuration of these firearms can do so by visiting the website of popular Olympic-style target shooting firearm manufacturer Pardini Armi.
Not only are these highly specialized and expensive (typically costing several thousand dollars) pistols not “assault weapons” by design, marketing, or function, it may literally be the case that no one in New York State has ever been assaulted with one, period. If there is a firearm less likely to be misused, it’s hard to imagine what that might be.
New York’s restrictions impact several International Shooting Sport Federation target shooting disciplines, including 25-meter pistol, standard pistol, rapid fire pistol, and centerfire pistol. Men’s 25-meter rapid fire pistol and women’s pistol will be events at the LA Olympics.
A situation where shooting sports athletes are unable to train and compete in their home jurisdiction due to oppressive laws may be familiar to longtime gun rights supporters.
In 1997, the United Kingdom enacted a total handgun ban in Great Britain (handguns are tolerated under strict circumstances in Northern Ireland). This forced British target shooters to leave their own jurisdiction for Northern Ireland, Belgium, France, or Switzerland in order to practice their sport. In 2005, a British shooting sports official explained to the BBC, “It is very difficult for us to get young people to come into a sport they can't practice domestically.”
In the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics, a British target pistol athlete told a shooting publication,
“Our goal is to win a medal for mother England, the 2012 host nation. But it is hard to compete on a world-class level when we can’t even train at home. Going overseas every time we need to practice wastes precious time and money. Other Olympic shooters don’t face these kind of obstacles.”
As the New York Times reported in 2012, some of the rules regarding pistols were temporarily loosened for shooting sports athletes in 2008, explaining,
Competitors were allowed to practice in Britain in the three events that used banned guns. The number of licenses to allow certain sport shooters to own pistols was capped in the low double digits, and only four ranges in the country were authorized for target practice.
Demonstrating how no amount of gun control is ever enough for the firearm prohibitionists, the Times went on to report,
The exemption was not looked on favorably by gun control advocates like Chris Williamson, another Labour member of Parliament.
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Williamson says additional restrictions are needed, if not an outright prohibition on all guns.
In the U.S., the right to keep and bear arms is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller made clear that this includes semi-automatic pistols. Further, the Court stated that the Second Amendment protects possession of arms for in common use for lawful purposes, which certainly includes the shooting sports. There is no reasonable legal or policy rationale for treating shooting sports athletes in New York like those in Old York.
Moreover, other highly restrictive jurisdictions with similar “assault weapons” laws – including California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey – have all found ways to accommodate competitive athletes using purpose built sporting pistols. New York alone seems determined to chill the aspirations of its residents to represent their country and their state in these age-old sporting disciplines.
Meanwhile, China – an authoritarian Communist regime with no right to arms that essentially bans firearm possession among its civilian population – nevertheless appears poised to continue its ascent in Olympic shooting sports. If they do, they will have likeminded New York State in their corner, assuring no one in America’s fourth most populous state can mount an effective challenge from within its borders.
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