How to Lose Your Guns Without Due Process in Freeport

I promised an update to the case of Gabriel Razzano. Here’s his recounting of how he lost his guns, taken from notes of our telephone conversation on July 24. Note the events described here took place in the first part of 2007. They are still unresolved over a year later.

Mr. Razzano is a community activist and, as a member of the Minutemen, has an interest in stopping illegal immigration. As such, he works within the system, including making his views known to his congressional representative. Over the course of several years, he developed a working relationship with Carolyn McCarthy’s former Chief of Staff—to the point where this individual had even visited Razzano at his home. When he learned the chief of staff had been replaced, Razzano asked to speak with the new one, but never had his call returned.

On a subsequent trip to her office, Razzano was informed he was not one of McCarthy’s constituents due to redistricting, and his representative was Peter King. He then went to the Board of Elections and obtained a certified copy stating he was in her district.

When he went back to McCarthy’s office with his “proof of constituency,” a detective approached him, told him to leave and to stop “annoying” Rep. McCarthy because he was not a constituent. The detective escorted Razzano down the elevator—at the bottom, when the doors opened, Rep. McCarthy was there. She ignored Razanno when he tried to speak to her and the detective escorted him out the building.

The very next day, Razanno got a call from his mother who lives a few doors down—the police were at her house demanding his guns or they would arrest him. He was told there was a 911 call about him, and he needed to surrender his firearms for a 90-day “cooling off period.” In other words, they would take the guns or they would take him. It was portrayed to him by the confiscating officer as “not a big deal.”

The police took all of his legally registered guns—nine rifles and 15 handguns, and they also seized his fiancée’s handgun. This despite no statutory authority to do this-- It’s important here to note that this was not a domestic or any other kind of violence incident. Razzano didn’t even get a receipt for the seized property until a week later—after he requested one.

A little over a month after the seizures, he received notice from Chief Anthony Rocco that his pistol license had been revoked. This has been done with no adjudication under “authority” of the chief, who indicated he believed Razzano to be “obsessed with the day laborer situation” and offered his unqualified opinion that Razzano’s actions had raised “concerns” over his “suitability” to have a license.

The letter made no mention of the 911 call, and in fact, a judge had to order McCarthy’s office to identify the employee who had called 911—after McCarthy had denied any involvement.

To sum it up, for exercising his First Amendment right to petition his representative, Razzano had the cops called on him by Congressman McCarthy’s office, which denied doing so until ordered by a magistrate to produce the name of the staffer who did this. Using the call as their reason to intervene, police made a decision to “temporarily” confiscate Mr. Razzano’s firearms. They subsequently revoked his pistol license, effectively barring return of his property. They have also retained custody of his long arms, and there is no provision to return them. And at no time has Mr. Razzano been charged with any crime, nor has he been adjudicated unsuitable or examined by any professional who has rendered that determination.

Razzano has filed a lawsuit in United States District Court, Eastern District of New York to recover his property and seek compensatory damages. That’s where the case stands as of today.

I have seen other documents, including the Razzano’s complaint, his certificate of registration from the Elections Board, the license revocation letter from Chief Rocco, and other legal particulars related to the case. While I would like to post them, as I said when I first brought this story onto WarOnGuns, I don’t want to do anything that his lawyer thinks inadvisable or that will hurt Mr. Razzano’s case. If I can get an OK to do that I will—otherwise, all information will be cleared before I discuss it here. Further information will be forthcoming as they happen with those conditions in mind.

Gabriel Razzano adds:

The only point I think might be added was the week before the incident I was in her office and they told me I "was in the wrong district" and they were "going to straighten it out." I left the phone numbers I could be reached at. They never called, and one week later I went back. Just thought the fact that Mc Carthy's office knew there was an election fraud happening, yet did nothing, till they called the police, to report me, not the election fraud!

Further Reading:
Another Look at Freeport Gun Seizure
Don't Mess With the Tyrant