Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

New York Law Imperils U.S. Olympic Target Shooting, Favors China’s Dominance

Monday, September 15, 2025

New York Law Imperils U.S. Olympic Target Shooting, Favors China’s Dominance

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.

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.

TRENDING NOW
Major Digital Currency’s Terms of Use Prohibit Firearm and Ammunition Sales

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

Major Digital Currency’s Terms of Use Prohibit Firearm and Ammunition Sales

So much of the energy surrounding the digital currency space has been aimed at bringing forth a new liberty. 

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Friday, October 24, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

Urban Crime Spike “the Most Overlooked U.S. Crime Story in Recent Years”

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

Urban Crime Spike “the Most Overlooked U.S. Crime Story in Recent Years”

It was a standard talking point of the Biden White House that violent crime had dropped by record levels under the Biden-Harris administration, attributed in part to its support of gun control measures.

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging California’s Glock Ban

Monday, October 13, 2025

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging California’s Glock Ban

Today, the National Rifle Association—along with Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, Poway Weapons & Gear, and two NRA members—filed a lawsuit challenging California’s Glock ban.

David Hogg: “The Grift that Keeps on Grifting”

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

David Hogg: “The Grift that Keeps on Grifting”

At this point, anybody who reads NRA-ILA’s Grassroots Alerts even sporadically is well aware of the shameless, anti-gun self-promoter David Hogg. 

Virginia: Wytheville Town Council to Vote on Gun Control Ordinance on Monday

Friday, October 24, 2025

Virginia: Wytheville Town Council to Vote on Gun Control Ordinance on Monday

On Monday, October 27, the Wytheville Town Council is scheduled to vote on a gun control ordinance that would expand “gun-free zones” by prohibiting firearms in Wytheville government buildings, public parks, and community and recreation ...

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

Monday, October 13, 2025

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

For someone who has claimed to be"...deeply mindful and respectful of the Second Amendment and people’s Constitutional rights,” Governor Gavin Newsom has once again proven that actions speak louder than words.

NRA-ILA Files Reply Brief Pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Its Challenge to the NFA’s Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

Thursday, October 23, 2025

NRA-ILA Files Reply Brief Pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Its Challenge to the NFA’s Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

Today, the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) filed a Reply Brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the National Firearms Act of 1934’s restrictions on short-barreled rifles in a ...

Canada’s Gun Grab: Amnesty Expiration Approaches as Top Officials Sow Confusion

News  

Monday, September 22, 2025

Canada’s Gun Grab: Amnesty Expiration Approaches as Top Officials Sow Confusion

Canada’s Liberal government has consistently and misleadingly used “buyback” to describe the 2020 mandatory “assault weapon” confiscation law, in an attempt to make the scheme appear less hostile to property rights and Canada’s responsible gun ...

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

News  

Monday, September 29, 2025

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

There have been multiple developments on the Canadian gun grab and ban in the last few days, but the most astounding has got to be a leaked bombshell recording of the Liberal Public Safety Minister, ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.