Here's What Defiant New York Gun Owners Decided to Do on the Day of State's Gun Registration Deadline

The state of New York gave gun owners who owned so-called “assault weapons” before the passage of the SAFE Act, a hastily-passed gun control law, until April 15, 2014, to register them with the state government.

On Tuesday, the deadline, New York gun owners and Second Amendment rights advocates gathered in downtown Buffalo, N.Y., and shredded gun registration forms in an act of protest.

New York lawmakers have “shredded” their constitutional rights, so it’s only fitting the gun registration forms get the same treatment, protesters reportedly said.

“The SAFE Act redefines an 'assault weapon' as almost any semi-automatic weapon with a ‘military-style feature,’ including a telescoping stock, long guns with a pistol grip, or the ability to hold a detachable magazine,” WIVB-TV reports.

Under the law, these weapons can no longer be bought or sold in New York. Gun owners who owned firearms determined by the state to be "assault weapons" are "grandfathered" into the law, but only if they register their weapons or have them permanently modified. 

"We will not register our firearms, any firearms whatsoever," one gun owner told the news station. "It's been done before, historically. And historically, registration has always led to confiscation."

Gun owners who choose not to obey the SAFE Act’s registration requirement may be prosecuted on a misdemeanor charge. Further, gun owners face a possible felony for “illegal possession” of an “assault weapon.”

(H/T: The Right Scoop)