New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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State Sen. Kevin Parker and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams are championing this one.
NY Gun Buyers Should Have Social Media Screened, Pols Say
"You would have thought this person was a model citizen until you examined his social media profile," said Adams, a Democrat. "And you would have noticed he was not a model citizen, he was a broken citizen that was a time bomb that was waiting to explode."

The pair of bills would empower the New York State Police and local departments like the NYPD to check three years of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat activity for anyone applying for a gun license in New York, Parker said.

Authorities would flag anything that is an "immediate threat to public safety," he said. Gun buyers would also have to let police comb through a year's worth of their search engine histories under the legislation.
What if one does not have a social media presence?

And of course this does not take into account anyone can establish a social media account in someone else's name. Ad buying on FB can be similarly abused. I don't see the NYSP, the NYPD, or any other municipal PD in the state spending any time determining whether an account is fake.

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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I assumed that anything I put on the net was examined by several bots. Some commercial, some political, a few criminal, many of foreign origin.

This would probably cut into porn sales, and would seem to automatically censor a lot of topics. Now we get to pick which Constitutional right we want infringed.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
- Ronald Reagan

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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Here is the bill:
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?default_fld ... utm_source
Relates to requiring social media and search engine reviews prior to the approval of an application or renewal of a license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver; requires a person applying for a license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver or a renewal of such license to consent to having his or her social media accounts and search engine history reviewed and investigated for certain posts and/or searches over a period of 1-3 years prior to the approval of such application or renewal; defines terms.

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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That's ridiculous. Who keeps their search engine history for 3 years? Any cleanup of a computer is going to eliminate it, and anyone who wants their computer to actually function after a couple months should be cleaning it up periodically anyways. This just demonstrates the bill writers ignorance of both technology and the bill of rights.
"...just smash your piano, and invoke the glory-beaming banjo!" ~Mark Twain

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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Yup, here it comes. Using Tech as informal Big Brother. With the trendiness of credit scores these days, maybe that should also be used to judge your trustworthiness in society... the way China is moving with their “social credit score”.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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GoldenRetrieversRule wrote: Sun Dec 09, 2018 3:27 pm That's ridiculous. Who keeps their search engine history for 3 years? Any cleanup of a computer is going to eliminate it, and anyone who wants their computer to actually function after a couple months should be cleaning it up periodically anyways. This just demonstrates the bill writers ignorance of both technology and the bill of rights.
Yeah I'm sure they'd deny me a gun under this because for security purposes my browser does not keep cookies or history at all. They'd claim I was trying to hide something when really I'm just following recommended security practices.
106+ recreational uses of firearms
1 defensive use
0 people injured
0 people killed

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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Buck13 wrote: Mon Dec 10, 2018 12:22 am *You* may not have your search engine history from three years ago, but I'll bet Google does!
Nope. I haven't used Google in about 10 years. The proposed law specifically mentions the search engines they want history from and I don't use any of them.

I use DuckDuckGo, and not only do I not save my search history, neither do they.

https://duckduckgo.com/
106+ recreational uses of firearms
1 defensive use
0 people injured
0 people killed

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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If Google would pull it's data center presence out of China (it did) so it wouldn't be forced to release records to the Chinese government on their own citizens but allows this infringement stateside, I'll be beyond pissed and will do everything in my power to not give them my business directly (search, Google apps, and Android) or indirectly (ads).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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ErikO wrote:I have zero plans on buying anything while inside the border of NY.
As pols try to appeal to gun prohibitionists with legislation intended to punish gun owners, this idea easily could spread to other Democratically-controlled states.
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13ʞ
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Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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Volokh's take on the new version of the bill, S1413.
N.Y. Bill Would Violate Gun Rights, Free Speech Rights, and Privacy
"Discriminatory content" isn't defined, here or elsewhere, but presumably refers to speech that expresses negative views about various groups (or what else would it mean?). Presumably more than 100 posts in 3 years that criticize Muslims, or oppose bans on discrimination based on transgender status, or contain sexist jokes would qualify. What about "discriminatory content" towards Republicans? Towards Israel? Not clear.

It's also not clear what qualifies as "content that is likely to incite or produce a violent action in or towards others" (for which there's no 100-post "excessiveness" standard). Does this have to be a 51% likelihood, a threshold which would almost never be satisfied? Some possibility, which could be satisfied for a vast range of rhetoric? Again, not clear.

It is clear, of course, that such speech is generally constitutionally protected, whether it's "discriminatory content" ("excessive" or not) or speech that is "likely to incite" "violent action"; recall that the very narrow incitement exception to the First Amendment is satisfied only if the speech is (1) intended to produce (2) imminent illegal conduct, and (3) likely to produce such imminent legal conduct -- item (ii) above doesn't include the intent or imminence requirements.

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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Charles C.W. Cooke:
N.Y. Gun Measure Threatens to ‘Essentially Nullify the 2nd Amendment’
In his latest original video, National Review’s Charles C. W. Cooke warns Americans of a new gun control measure that threatens citizens’ privacy and Second Amendment rights.

“As part of a sweeping set of gun control proposals that are currently under consideration in New York State,” Cooke begins, “a Brooklyn-based state representative named Kevin Parker has proposed a measure that, if enacted into law, would require anyone in New York applying for a handgun to hand over their social media username and password to the police.”

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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K9s wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 2:28 pm How would this be Constitutional? I assume they think that all bad people post their plans on social media (like the movies?). Is that what they plan to look for? Who gets to "decide" if your speech is free?
I'm sure it's not constitutional. Unfortunately, it will take 10-20 years in the courts to prove it. This seems to be the new approach. Pass whatever meets the near-term desire (can't call it a goal since it doesn't address actual gun violence, just restriction of the law abiding) knowing full well it may be overruled if it ever gets to SCOTUS. Hey, we did something! [Much chest thumping ensues/]

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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We are on the opposite, but similar, track here. The Gov wants permit-less carry nearly everywhere - especially armed teachers.

I think both sides are daring the other side to oppose their crazy pro-gun or anti-gun proposals so they can be branded as the opposition to a wedge issue.

The divide is a chasm in America.

Maybe legislators could (possibly) compromise and pass laws? I guess they would be primaried if they actually did their jobs?
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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K9s wrote:Maybe legislators could (possibly) compromise and pass laws?
Could you give an example of compromise as it pertains to firearm laws needed in New York?

sbɐɯ ʎʇıɔɐdɐɔ pɹɐpuɐʇs ɟo ןןnɟ ǝɟɐs
ɯɯ6 bdd ɹǝɥʇןɐʍ
13ʞ
"ǝuıqɹɐɔ 1ɐ4ɯ" dɯɐʇsןןoɹ --- ɯoɔos0269ǝן ʇןoɔ
"ǝuıqɹɐɔ ʇuǝɯǝɔɹoɟuǝ ʍɐן sʇןoɔ" dɯɐʇsןןoɹ --- 0269ǝן ʇןoɔ
(béɟ) 59-pɯɐ

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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Got to admire the consistency. Violate your 1A rights to violate your 2A rights, all to protect you --from you. This behavior may be why the 2A was written.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
- Ronald Reagan

Re: New York Democrats propose having prospective gun buyers' social media screened

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dougb wrote: Thu Feb 14, 2019 9:35 am Got to admire the consistency. Violate your 1A rights to violate your 2A rights, all to protect you --from you. This behavior may be why the 2A was written.
Pick and choose to meet your constitution rights to meet your agenda, disgusting and China's "social credit score" is in the same category. If we ever had a "social credit score" in the US that would be grounds for some form of rebellion.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

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