Gun group wins lawsuit against NY to disclose gun records

A state Supreme Court judge has ruled that the state needs to make public statistical information on the number of assault weapons registered in New York.

The April 30 ruling was disclosed today by the Shooters Committee on Public Education, a gun-rights group that sued last year after the state refused to release the details. State Police claimed the information was not public under a gun-control law passed in January 2013.

Paloma Capanna, a Rochester-area lawyer who represented the group, called the decision a major victory for transparency in government.

She said she would file an order demanding the release of the data if the state doesn't immediately comply; the state may also appeal. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Bill Robinson, a Penfield, Monroe County, gun-rights activist.

"This is an important juncture really for all of us in a government administration here in Albany that has been operating behind a veil of secrecy not only for the information we sought, but in other areas," Capanna, a former Democratic candidate for state and federal offices, said.

In the ruling, Judge Thomas McNamara said the state doesn't have the legal grounds to keep the details private.

"The exemption asserted by the agency does not apply to the records sought by the petitioner and as that is the only basis offered by the agency for denying access, the records should be provided," McNamara wrote.

State Police have rejected Freedom of Information requests from individuals, groups and the media on aggregate data on gun sales and permits, as well as how many assault weapons have been registered.

State Police have argued that the information is exempt under the so-called SAFE Act, a set of gun-control laws enacted in 2013 that limits disclose about gun permits. The law requires owners of assault weapons to register with the state.

The SAFE Act forbids the disclosure of gun owners' names who want to keep the information private and also doesn't allow a new gun database to be released publicly. But gun-rights and gun-control groups have argued that the aggregate data that doesn't disclose anyone's identity should be make public.

In a ruling last October, the state Committee on Open Government also ruled that the data should be available to the public.

Gannett's Albany Bureau in September 2013 sought records through the state's Freedom of Information law from State Police for data on how many pistol permits had been issued by county in 2012 and 2013. The request was denied, as was an appeal.

Stephen Aldstadt, president of the Shooters Committee on Political Education, said the group's request was not seeking information about any individual. There has been speculation that few gun owners have registered their assault weapons since the law took effect last year, and Aldstadt said the records should be available.

"We've never asked for any personal identifying information in any of this. We are simply looking for the number of records and not any individual's name or particular firearm that is registered," Aldstadt said.

The group initially sought the records in January 2014 and filed the lawsuit 10 months later after the state refused to provide the details.

There was no immediate comment from the state Attorney General's Office, who represented State Police, Cuomo and Police Superintendent Joseph D'Amico in the case.

Robinson, who attended the news conference in Albany today, praised the decision.

"It's important that we have open government in the state of New York. We pay these public officials through our taxes," said Robinson, who hosts a weekly local radio show "The Second Amendment."

Robinson v Cuomo_Order 04302015.pdf by jspector&gt;