Following December’s tragic shootings in Newtown, CT’s Sandy Hook Elementary, New York has become the first state to pass a gun control bill, one that includes a major expansion of their assault weapons ban.
As he signed it, Governor Andrew Cuomo called the bill “the most comprehensive package in the nation.” “I am proud to be a New Yorker because New York is doing something,” he added. “We are fighting back.”
Some details on NY SAFE, aka the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act:
- Expands the definition of banned weapons to include semiautomatic pistols and rifles with at least one military-style feature. So New Yorkers who own one of the now-banned weapons can either sell them outside the state or keep them. If they choose the latter, they have up to one year to register them in a statewide firearms database being created.
- Any gun magazine that can hold more than seven rounds of ammunition will be banned
- Required background checks of ammunition buyers.
- Ammo dealers will have to register with the state so police can track in real time if someone is stockpiling bullets.
- Health professionals must report to the state if a mentally-ill patient is posing a threat, and that person’s name would be added to a database that can be checked periodically when gun licenses are sought or renewed every five years.
- Life without parole for anyone who kills an on-duty first responder.
More info on NY Safe is available by clicking here.
