June 15, 2010

At a cost to gun owners that would be less than a box of bullets or a National Rifle Association membership, New York could have a law that would help police solve crimes and not impair the Second Amendment one iota.

The Senate is expected to consider as soon as today a bill that would require certain guns sold in the state to incorporate microstamping technology that would imprint a code on shell casings. The bill, which already has passed the Assembly, has, not surprisingly, seen its share of hype on both sides. If the Senate can cut through all that, it will see that this legislation would simply give law enforcement one more tool for solving crimes.

The concept isn't really new. Investigators have long used the distinct marks left by guns on bullets to solve crimes. Microstamping formalizes this: A tiny code, specific to each gun and etched on the firing pin and breech, would be stamped on the casing of each bullet fired from the weapon. Even without the gun, police would know at least who the owner of record is.

To be sure, microstamping is no panacea. The bill would apply only to new semi-automatic handguns sold in New York after 2012. New York would, for now, be one of only two states, along with California, with such a law, so guns would still be widely available elsewhere without the technology. Other states are considering microstamping, though, which could provide momentum for a national standard.

Moreover, the technology can be readily thwarted. The stamp can be obscured, firing pins can be replaced. Shooters can also gather up their casings, assuming they have the time and the presence of mind to do so.

Further, the code will only point to a gun's registered owner. If the weapon was stolen, it won't directly help police identify a shooter.

But the technology would provide a lead, and, quite likely, help solve at least some shootings. Its shortcomings do nothing to outweigh the value of bringing even a few killers and would-be killers to justice.

Gun owners would barely notice any change. Their names would not be in any new public database; manufacturers and dealers would simply keep the same records they always have, with the microstamp code added. Contrary to the wild estimates from the NRA and other groups which say this could add hundreds of dollars to pistol price tags, studies put the real cost at between 50 cents and $6. The law, proposed by Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan, and Assembly member Michelle Schimel, D-Great Neck, effectively caps the extra cost at $12.

It's this simple: If shell casings from your gun are never found at a crime scene, this law won't affect you in any way except for an entirely minor one-time cost that won't set you back more than perhaps a large pizza at worst.

And if bullets from your gun are found at the scene of a murder, we have to wonder why the NRA and other opponents of this bill don't want police to know that.

The issue:
The Senate considers a bill to imprint shell casings with a distinctive code.

The Stakes:
Knee-jerk objections threaten a bill that could solve crimes and leave lawful gun owners alone.