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New York Antique Gun Law Antiques Roadshow UK Talks

Now in Effect Repatriation with Guest

ROCHESTER, NY – THE INDEPENDENT – Antiques Roadshow UK has sparked a debate
Background checks are now after an expert on the show asked two guests if they planned to “repatriate”
required for those looking to items gifted to their grandfather under colonial rule.
buy ammunition and antique On Sunday (September 10) night’s episode of the long-running BBC
firearms in New York State. show, which sees members of the public learning the value of their treas-
State police have been serving as ured items and artefacts, the Antiques Roadshow team visited Crystal Palace
the “middleman” between gun Park in south-east London.
owners and the FBI conducting During the show, two women brought forward a number of items
background checks. Ammunition checks have also been added to that list. given to their grandfather, Sir Harold Kittermaster, the governor of
It now costs $9 for gun background checks and $2.50 for ammunition the country then known as British Somaliland. The country declared
checks in the State of New York. The law went into effect on Wednesday, independence in 1960.
September 13, 2023. Kittermaster formed a “friendship” with Haile Selassie, the emperor of
In a statement from Governor Kathy Hochul made the day before, Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. The pair exchanged letters and Kittermaster
“Earlier today, Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued an order rejecting the was even invited to Selassie’s coronation.
latest attempt to halt New York’s nation-leading gun safety laws taking Their original correspondence, as well as translations, were presented
effect tomorrow and to block a related law that has been in effect since to expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan, as well as some elaborately adorned
December 2022. The Concealed Carry Improvement Act passed last garments which once belonged to the emperor.
year after I convened a special session of the Legislature to address the Archer-Morgan praised the “beautiful” and “sumptuous” items, saying
Supreme Court’s reckless overturning of gun safety regulations that had he felt “privileged” to see them. He also asked the women, “What are you
kept New York safe for more than a century. This new order from going to do with these things?” and if they were considering returning
Justice Sotomayor will ensure that the legislation’s provisions related to them. The pair replied that this was “under discussion,” with one saying:
stronger background checks for guns and ammunition, set to take effect “We’re just going to have a think about it.”
on September 13, will continue to move full speed ahead, and the law Archer-Morgan then asked: “So if there’s a call for these things to be
requiring periodic onsite inspections of firearms dealers remains intact. repatriated, would you be happy to do that?” The women agreed, saying
Public safety is my top priority, and I’m committed to doing everything that they “absolutely” and “definitely” would.
in my power to keep New Yorkers safe.” The comments have now been criticised by a leading academic, who
Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino notes that changes to pro- noted that Ethiopia has not asked for historic gifts to be returned. “Even
cessing background checks—called “NICS” for short—are also now in for those who believe in returning objects, this simply doesn’t qualify
effect. “Now the gun shop is still going to put the information in but it’s because it was an open gift,” he said. “We’re dealing with a gift – and to
not going to the federal government, it’s going through state government, whom should it go? Ethiopia—well, the Empire—has been dissolved.”
through the state police. They’ll do the NICS check,” said Giardino. The value was estimated at between $5,000 and $6,200.

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