Governor Kathy Hochul, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Carl Heastie announced Tuesday that 10 bills have been introduced in both the Assembly and Senate that would tighten New York’s gun laws, close loopholes and directly address the gaps in our laws exposed by the horrific shootings in Buffalo, Texas, and around the country. The bills would: require information sharing between state, local and federal agencies when guns are used in crimes; make threatening mass harm a crime; require microstamping for new guns; increase accountability for social media platforms; eliminate grandfathering of large capacity ammunition feeding devices; prohibit the purchase of body armor for anyone who is not engaged in an eligible profession; strengthen the Red Flag law by expanding the list of people who can file for Extreme Risk Protection Orders, and other measures; require that an individual obtain a license, with a minimum age of 21, to purchase a semiautomatic rifle; and close the “any other weapon” loophole.
“Within the last month, two horrific mass shootings in Buffalo and in Texas have rattled this nation to our core and shed a new light on the urgent need for action to prevent future tragedies,” Hochul said. “New York already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country but clearly we need to make them even stronger. New Yorkers deserve to feel safe in schools, in grocery stores, in movie theaters, in shopping malls, and on our streets — and we must do everything
in our power to protect them.
Working closely with Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Speaker Heastie, and all of our partners in the legislature, we will strengthen our gun laws, help keep New Yorkers safe, give law enforcement the tools they need to prevent crime, and stop the spread of dangerous weapons. As New York once again leads, we continue to urge the federal government to seize this opportunity and pass meaningful national gun violence prevention laws.”
The legislative package includes:
A.1023-A (Paulin)/S.4970-A (Kavanagh)
Requires all state and local law enforcement agencies to report seized or recovered guns to the criminal gun clearinghouse; participate
in ATFs collective data sharing program; test-fire seized or recovered guns for national integrated Ballistic Information Network;
and, enter the make, model, caliber, and serial number of the gun into the national crime information center. Also requires gun dealers to implement
a security plan for securing firearms, rifles and shotguns; prohibit persons under eighteen and not accompanied by a parent
from the certain locations of a gun dealer’s premises; provide training to all employees on the conduct of firearm, rifle, and shotgun transfers,
including identification of and response to illegal purchases; adhere to record keeping requirements; and require the State police to conduct
inspections of gun dealers every three years.
A.6716-A (Wallace)/S89-B (Kaminsky):
Creates the crimes of making a threat of mass harm and aggravated making a threat of mass harm.
A.7926-A (Rosenthal, L)/S.4116-A (Hoylman):
Requires DCJS to certify or decline to certify that microstamping-enabled pistols are technologically viable
and if certified as viable, to establish programs and processes for the implementation of such technology; and,
establishes the crime of the unlawful sale of a non-microstamping-enabled firearm
A7865-A (Fahy)/S.4511-A (Kaplan):
Requires social media networks in New York to provide a clear and concise policy regarding how they would
respond to incidents of hateful conduct on their platform and maintain easily accessible mechanisms for reporting
hateful conduct on those platforms
A.10428-A (People-Stokes)/S.9229-A (Hoylman):
Eliminates the grandfathering of large capacity ammunition feeding devices that were lawfully possessed
prior to the enactment of the Safe Act or manufactured prior to 1994.
A. 10497 (Jacobson)/S.9407-B (Kavanagh):
Makes unlawful the purchase and sale of body vests for anyone who is not engaged in an eligible profession.
Eligible professions include law enforcement officers and other professions designated by the Department of
State in consultation with other agencies. Also requires that any sale of a body vest be done in person.
A.10501 (Meeks)/S. 9465 (Bailey)
Creates a new Task Force on Social Media and Violent Extremism in the Attorney General’s office to study
and investigate the role of social media companies in promoting and facilitating violent extremism and domestic
terrorism online.
A. 10502 (Cahill)/S. 9113-A (Skoufis):
Expands who may file an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) petition to include health care practitioners
who have examined the individual within the last six months; requires police and district attorneys to file ERPO
petitions upon credible information that an individual is likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious
harm to himself, herself or others; requires the State Police and the Municipal Police Training Council to create
and disseminate policies and procedures to identify when an ERPO petition may be warranted; amends the firearm
licensing statute to make it clear that when an individual has been reported by a mental health practitioner
and a county mental health commissioner has concurred with such practitioner that the individual is likely to
engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to themself or others, such report is considered in determining
whether or not to issue a firearm license to the individual; and, expands the mental health practitioners who
can make such reports.
A10503 (Jackson)/S. 9458 (Thomas):
Requires that an individual obtain a license prior purchasing a semiautomatic rifle. This is prospective and
applies to purchases made on and after the effective date.
A. 10504 (Burgos)/S. 9456 (Sepulveda)
Expands the definition of a “firearm” to include any weapon not defined in the Penal Law that is designed or
may readily be converted to expel a projectile by action of an explosive. This is intended to capture firearms
that have been modified to be shot from an arm brace, which are evading our current definitions of firearms and
rifles. (Submitted)
