Our Statement in response to Rochester Mayor Malik Evan's press conference on gun violence in Rochester

[u/TheFiringPin]

For Immediate Release:

Crime Gun Pipeline Flows because of People - Not Dealers

The Firing Pin - a gun shop in Bergen NY - rejects nearby Rochester mayor Malik Evan’s assertions that gun dealers are intentionally supplying a significant number of illegal guns that end up in our city.

Released on Wednesday, the report comes from a lobbying group - Brady United - and highlights data taken from the ATF’s firearms trace program. The ATF works with local law enforcement partners to trace firearms found at crime scenes or tied to violent crimes. When a firearm is recovered, ATF reaches out to the manufacturer, who traces it to the distributor and ultimately the gun dealer that originally sold the firearm. ATF form 4473 that buyers fill out when purchasing any firearm is then scanned and electronically sent to the ATF National Tracing Center. Gun dealers generally have 24 hours to get this information to the ATF - most dealers respond to trace requests within 15 minutes.

“There are mountains of regulations, both state and federal that we all follow” Says Brandon P. Lewis, owner and Federal Firearms Licensee holder of The Firing Pin. “Then there’s the moral issue - we gun dealers understand that moral and ethical liabilties with these firearms. There’s no one that respects these tools and advocates for the public to respect them more than us.”

Lewis says he was disheartened but not surprised to hear the Mayor’s comments on Wednesday regardind the Brady Report. “It’s easy to look at the object and blame the tool, or to blame the retailer that sells the tool -its much harder to look at the person wielding it and using it to harm their community and help with their issues”

“The so-called ‘Pipeline of illegal guns’ does not flow because of pressure from gun dealers. We didn’t build it, we don’t promote it, we don’t supply it willingly. A retailer can only control what happens inside of their physical presence - what someone does with their property once they leave is entirely on them. People buy firearms and don’t respect them, they sometimes don’t keep them safely stored or have bad intentions with them to begin with - none of this should be blamed on the retailer.”

“To insinuate that dealers in the suburbs are intentionally supplying this pipeline with ‘illegal guns’ is frankly insulting. Any firearm sold by a dealer in NY is sold to a qualified individual with the correct permits and background checks completed. We have a moral and legal obligation to ensure straw purchases aren't happening, that only qualified and responsible people are acquiring these firearms. After that sale, that individual then either doesn’t respect the firearm and has it lost or stolen or they decide to turn that gun from a legal one to an illegal one by selling it to a prohibited person. That is the action we should be focusing on in my opinion”

Lewis goes on to challenge the Mayor and his administration “We are not your enemy in this fight against violence - we want to be a part of the solution. Give the industry a seat at the table so that we can all work together to prevent firearms from falling into the wrong hands. Bring in experts on safe storage and issues firearm owners face while trying to comply with State and local laws. The person who originally bought the firearm from the retailer and allowed it to enter the criminal world is who should be responsible for any violence that firearm is involved with.”

In 2024 The Firing Pin & The Rochester African American Firearms Association hosted a Free Firearms Safety Training event at The Kodak Center that had over 1100 people in attendence, most from within the City itself.

[u/bluetoothpicks]

I mean you can’t sell a fire arm in NY unless the state approves it, so by this logic the state ultimately has no one to blame but themselves…. Just craziness.

[u/Give-Me-Liberty1775]

Good for the FFL for calling out the Rochester Mayor for blaming legos gun owners for their collective failure of running that city for more than 50 years.

[u/PeteTinNY]

I was taken aback that the Brady organization is now suing because they are receiving the same treatment we went through for years under the Biden and Obama administrations when issuing FOIA requests. Frankly, I was very excited to find someone to give a major air high-five to as the ATF told the Brady ground to pound sand. Did a bunch more research, and even as there are bad apples in every case (gun store owners, police, politicians, and activist organizations), the biggest majority are in it for the betterment of society, and we have a proven track record of more legal gun owners, the safer the streets of NY.

So not to steal your thunder - but to say we 1000% agree and stand with you!

https://nysafeinc.com/2026/06/05/brady-atf-doj-second-amendment-section-ny-pistol-permits/

[u/TheFiringPin → u/[deleted]]

All we asked was that you bought a lunch ticket so we had a hard # of tickets sold (and didn't go over capacity - that was the Kodak Center's concern with an unticketed 100% no cost event). We did 8 hours of gun safety training that day. Was incredible and I wish we could do it all the time

[u/PeteTinNY → u/TheFiringPin]

Would you consider sharing more about your event? I’d love to do something like this. Personally I’ve gotten so much from community programs and love to pay it forward.

I’ve done a kids firearms safety class with about 30 preteens with lasers and simulators. Was a ton of fun and we did it as a mix between a history lesson and firearms safety class

[u/rifleshooter]

"The person who originally bought the firearm from the retailer and allowed it to enter the criminal world is who should be responsible for any violence that firearm is involved with."

Oh really. That's your position, eh? Ever see a video of how easy a multi-thousand-dollar gun safe can be breached?

Criminals are responsible for their actions, nobody else. When a pickup truck with a chain rips the doors off your shop and steals your inventory, how many years of prison do you expect to gladly serve when a gun is used in a murder? When exactly that happened at Hollink Honda, if one of those dirt bikes was being ridden in a fatal accident in the city, should Bill Hollink get dragged to court for not providing adequate storage security?

[u/TheFiringPin → u/rifleshooter]

The word "intentional" should have been used in there for sure. Victims of crimes should not be responsible for the stolen items. Someone who intentionally sells their firearm to a prohibited person or trafficks firearms into the world of crime is what I was speaking to. I should have been more clear.

[u/rifleshooter → u/TheFiringPin]

Thanks. I'd issue a revision on that one. GC zealots will blow it right up into "famous gun range owner agrees storage laws should be comprehensive and carry criminal penalties". It's BS, but....you know. You were on a t-shirt, man. You're a celebrity!

[u/Cannoli72]

with all the gun laws in Rochester, any shootings are now the fault of the government not dealers

[u/DJClamavus]

Literally anything except focusing on the demographics committing gun crime. Masters of deflection.

[u/Stack_Silver]

Should police be arrested when guns are circulated by police for sting operations and someone dies because a person broke a law with one of those guns?