GUNS Magazine August 1955

Wit. Gun LawsBy POLICEMAN "X"'M A COP. My name isn't "Joe Friday." I can't tell myI real name in this article1 have a job to look out forand two kids and a wife to feed.Last month I was shot by a crook. Two boys ran out ofa currency exchange. I called to them to halt. One of themfired at me. I drew my Official Police .38 and stopped themboth. But the hip wound I received gave me time to thinkover things . . . like "Where did those fellows get theirguns?" Didn't we have laws which kept hoodlums frompossessing guns?When I looked into the laws about pistol permits, Ilearned a strange thing. The laws all seemed geared totake guns away from the ordinary public, from a personwho might need a gun to defend himself against a crook.And these same laws make it relatively easy for any twobithoodlum to get a gun anywhere, any time he wants one.Because I found this out, I'm afraid to sign my name tothis article. You see, the state senator in my district ispumping for an anti-gun law and he wouldn't exactly likea police officer from his ward to talk about the real factson anti-gun legislation.There's a lot of talk in these days of teen-age hoodlumisn~about New York's state pistol law, the Sullivan Law.People always compare newer laws with this one. "Likethe Sullivan Law," they say.The Sullivan Law was written 45 years ago. The meatof the law is in Section 1897 of the Penal Laws of NewYork. It states: "Any person . . . who shall have in hispossession in any city, village or town of this state, anypistol, revolver or other firearm of a size which may beconcealed upon the person, without a written license therefor. . . shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and if he hasbeen previously convicted of any crime he shall be guiltyof a felony." This also applies to the carrying of such aweapon, concealed and loaded or unloaded with ammunitionavailable on the person.By the terms of this law, you must get a permit in orderto buy or possess a pistol. Fingerprints and pictures of allapplicants are required to get a permit, except for a householderupon his application to have a pistol in his home.These permits are good only for a definite period, usuallyone year. They must be renewed, and there is a fee, about50 cents to $1.50 per license.This law has been the model for other laws since then.Seized weapons are assembled by New York police fordumping into ocean. Total of 13 tons were in this load.Confiscated pistols, rifles and shotguns are dumped intoLake Michigan by Chicago police as part of anti-gun drive.