It’s been a bad few weeks for the illusion of big government competence. “The Cuomo administration’s director of state operations, James Malatras, has signed a memorandum of understanding with State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan to undo certain aspects of the New York SAFE Act gun control law, though the major changes affect provisions of the law that were never implemented and that pertain to ammunition sales.” The reason: they don’t have the technological capability to implement an ammunition sales background check system. Nor can the brainiacs in state government figure a way to maintain a registration system that would keep track of all ammo sales in the Empire State . . .

According to the Governor’s minions, there’s nothing to see here. Which is why they released word of the setback in a Friday afternoon news dump to attract as little attention as possible.

The Cuomo administration said that nothing about the SAFE Act is changing other than a recognition that an ammunition database can’t begin until the technology is developed to create it.

Gun rights supporters view the announcement pretty much as they would news of 100 state legislators at the bottom of Long Island Sound – a good start.

“It’s a good beginning,” said Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, which is the state chapter of the National Rifle Association. King said his group is still seeking repeal of the SAFE Act, and the group has a lawsuit pending in the courts to overturn the law.

But members of the legislature’s civilian disarmament caucus weren’t pleased.

A spokesman for State Senate Democrats blasted the Friday afternoon gun-law deal as “outrageous.” In a reference to claims made by Cuomo since the SAFE Act was passed, spokesman Mike Murphy added, “I guess we don’t have the toughest gun laws in the nation anymore.”

He says that like it’s a bad thing.

[h/t WK]