Via the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association:

State Senator Antoine Thompson’s attempt to link a gun-control agenda with the recent gang-related killings in Buffalo is disgraceful. His assertion that firearms microstamping legislation pending in Albany would assist the police in finding the shooters has no basis in fact, especially since police have already identified several persons of interest.

Independent research, including a study conducted by the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory in Hauppauge, NY, has found microstamping technology to be ineffective and easily defeated. A similar California law scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2010 has not been implemented – in part because the technology simply does not work as advertised.

It is time for Sen. Thompson to stop making excuses and showing sympathy for violent antisocial members of society and deal with reality. As the Buffalo News reported, police and court records show that seven of the eight people shot have had prior brushes with the law, including two arrested last month on charges involving firearms. One of the dead victims was on probation and forbidden from being inside any establishment which serves alcohol; two of the eight who were shot had served state prison time on weapons or assault charges; five are convicted felons and six had been arrested by Buffalo police since 2008. If Sen. Thompson were truly interested in making his community safe he would do everything in his power to stop letting thugs like this roam the streets freely instead of pushing a useless, feel-good bill.