Buffalo, NY to seize guns after owners' funerals

A plan by police in Buffalo, N.Y., to begin confiscating the firearms of legal gun owners within days of their deaths is drawing fire from Second Amendment advocates.

The plan is legal under a longstanding, but rarely enforced state law, but gun rights advocates say, with apologies to onetime NRA spokesman Charlton Heston, it is tantamount to prying firearms - some of which may have substantial monetary or sentimental value - from the cold, dead hands of law-abiding citizens.

Cold, dead hands: Buffalo to seize guns from families following owners' funerals

So apparently it isn't enough to have some of the toughest firearms laws in the nation. Now they're going to start cross checking deaths with firearm registations in order to take the firearms from surviving family members. I'm curious as to how difficult New York will make it for the families to keep the firearms of their family members. I have a couple of revolvers that were passed from my father. I couldn't imagine having to fight the state in order to have kept them.

Once again, nonsense from nanny states prevail.

What ever happened to possessions going to next of kin? More "legal robbery" from the state, as if there wasn't enough of that as it is. They will stoop to any level of depravity to fill their coffers. Disgusting.

When I read your thread title I at first thought it was karmic retribution until I realized you were talking about the city in upstate NY and not the animal.

a reply to: TKDRL

It's still there, it says they can apply to keep the pistol.

a reply to: AutumnWitch657

Nice call. I've edited it for clarity.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: TKDRL



It's still there, it says they can apply to keep the pistol.

They can apply to keep them, but how many applications do you think they're going to approve for such things? They're going to make it as difficult as they can for the application to be approved.

Not just Buffalo. A gun shop owner here in Syracuse NY just died, and his 800+ guns in his shop were seized after he died. His son was hoping of taking the business over, but now that won't happen...

a reply to: AutumnWitch657

I too had visions of a great horned spirit waiting by the deathbed of the descendent of some soldier or some such. Nice to know I'm not the only one

On topic, it's a surprise to me that such a law exists locally, and folk need to petition, campaign or w/e to have it repealed immediately and ensure that family possessions stay in the family for god's sake.

Sadly it's no surprise that it's now being exploited after presumably laying dormant for so long, money grubbing sods.

years ago my friend died. He had two pistols. Out of his cold-dead hands, his 19yr old son got them. I was not happy to connect those dots.

originally posted by: WP4YT
Not just Buffalo. A gun shop owner here in Syracuse NY just died, and his 800+ guns in his shop were seized after he died. His son was hoping of taking the business over, but now that won't happen...

Was his son a felon, or deemed mentally unstable? Don't know the whole story.

a reply to: MarkJS

I'd seriously doubt any of that. It was likely an excuse to close another gun store.

originally posted by: WP4YT
Not just Buffalo. A gun shop owner here in Syracuse NY just died, and his 800+ guns in his shop were seized after he died. His son was hoping of taking the business over, but now that won't happen...

Madness. Get the hell out of that dump.

I would imagine cops there will be building their own collections by holding a few arms out of the 'paper work'.

We are getting hit from every direction here in NY. As I have said many times now it is gonna take the gov taking the fudds guns to make some people wake up. At first it was the ar-15 and look alikes because they were deemed scary and bad, but little did anyone other than those paying attention noticed was it included a lot of other firearms already deemed common by the scotus. So soon it will be all semi auto guns and then the fudds or the people who only care about hunting rifles will be impacted. And it will be an eye opener for sure for them. Can't wait for the day anymore, just for the laugh... Thats all we really have left. My sig line has been in place since the implement of it and stands till it comes to fruition.

Just out of curiosity, can New Yorkers still sell their firearms to another private individual? If so, and if I lived in that state, I'd just 'sell' most or all of my firearms to my heirs before I died if I knew the end was near. Regardless, its their private property, and unless the state has a specific reason (criminal past, mental illness, etc) to deny the heir possession of that firearm, then I see no justifiable reason that person shouldn't be able to take possession of it.

In any event, that's a pretty screwed up situation, which seems to be true on any number of subjects these days. Makes me glad that the people of my state still value individual freedom, rather than one that unjustly punishes law abiding citizens and restricts their rights based on the crimes of a relative handful of others.

If you are a believer in the 2nd Amendment, get out of New York by any means possible. It's a rat hole and apparently that's just what they want. Not enough are standing up and saying "Enough!" for TPTB to pay attention. They keep electing gun grabbers and as long as they do, gun rights will be whittled down to nothing. If you own guns and are terminally ill, sell them to the person you want to have them or get them out of state. When I heard even the rumor that Illinois was going to ban semi autos with more than 10 rounds, [ because I believe they would if they could ] all mine went to Kentucky and didn't come back till it was settled.

a reply to: Sremmos80
Yeah, that doesn't give me great confidence in them doing the right thing. You shouldn't have to apply for something that would be rightfully yours in the first place. The police should have to apply for some kind of court order should there be a good reason someone shouldn't get the guns.

The application is similar to applying for a conceal carry in NY I would imagine.