'Mayor Bloomberg Is Driven Crazy by My Flintlock Gun'

New York police are insisting that a Revolutionary War buff in Brooklyn obtain a permit for a flintlock rifle even though it's not covered by the city's gun registration law. The law includes an exception for "antique firearms," defined as weapons that require separate loading of bullets and gunpowder. Michael Littlejohn commissioned the $825 flintlock replica from a Tennessee blacksmith, and police found out about it after he left a receipt at a copy center, where someone discovered it and ratted him out. The Daily News reports that the lead detective assigned to harass Littlejohn told his lawyer "he had orders 'from higher-ups' to pursue the case." So far Littlejohn is standing firm. "This is the last legal gun that you can have without registration in New York," he says. "Mayor Bloomberg is driven crazy by my flintlock gun—the one that won the American Revolution."

[Thanks to Tricky Vic for the tip.]