New York Senate Passes Gun Control Bill
The New York State Senate set a new record for passing a Bill - Senate Bill S.1422 was submitted by Senator Ruben Diaz (Bronx County). On January 9th, he sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo complaining that his Bill was being "ignored" by the Senate. The Governor bragged shortly thereafter that New York would be the first State to take serious action on Gun Control, and yesterday, Monday 14 January, that Bill was passed by the Senate. A news report states that the Assembly is expected to pass the Bill today, Tuesday 15th January.
Here are pertinent details:
Republican Sen. Greg Ball called that political opportunism in a rare criticism of the popular and powerful governor seen by his supporters as a possible candidate for president in 2016.
"We haven't saved any lives tonight, except one: the political life of a governor who wants to be president," said Ball who represents part of the Hudson Valley. "We have taken an entire category of firearms that are currently legal that are in the homes of law-abiding, tax paying citizens. ... We are now turning those law-abiding citizens into criminals."
The governor confirmed the proposal, previously worked out in closed session, called for a tougher assault weapons ban and restrictions on ammunition and the sale of guns, as well as a mandatory police registry of assault weapons, grandfathering in assault weapons already in private hands.
It would create a more powerful tool to require the reporting of mentally ill people who say they intend to use a gun illegally and would address the unsafe storage of guns, the governor confirmed.
Under current state law, assault weapons are defined by having two "military rifle" features spelled out in the law. The proposal would reduce that to one feature and include the popular pistol grip.
Private sales of assault weapons to someone other than an immediate family would be subject to a background check through a dealer. Also Internet sales of assault weapons would be banned, and failing to safely store a weapon could be subject to a misdemeanor charge.
Ammunition magazines would be restricted to seven bullets, from the current 10, and current owners of higher-capacity magazines would have a year to sell them out of state. An owner caught at home with eight or more bullets in a magazine could face a misdemeanor charge."
Here is a link to the article, in the Glens Falls Post Star:
http://poststar.com/news/state-and-...cle_062f5ece-5e6a-11e2-aeef-0019bb2963f4.html
There is more in this Bill; I will apparently now have to register my Grandfather's deer rifle (a Winchester Model 1907 that he hunted with for 30+ years) as an "assault rifle", and I have one year to get rid of the 2 ten round magazines for it.
The current NY definition of an "assault rifle" limits these features to no more than 2:
A barrel shroud that "surrounds the barrel, permitting it to be supported while firing without burning the supporting hand"
A folding or collapsable stock
A forward support such as a pistol grip
A detachable magazine with a capacity of more than 10 rounds
A bayonet lug
Capablity to mount a grenade launcher
In the new law, pistol grips are included in these "features", and the number of features allowed is reduced from 2 to 1. In other words, you can forget owning an AR-15.
My wife and I are seriously considering selling the house and moving out of the state. I am also wondering what this might mean for the many farmers here in NY - those in the western part of the state are managing coyotes, and now also feral hogs.
The original Bill called for a maximum ownership of 10 firearms by any one person (the old law was 20), and stated that "asssault rifles" could only be legally transported to and from, and only used on a licensed gun range. None of us know what passed the Senate, because any changes (besides the change from 10 to 7 rounds magazine capacity) have not been published.
My fervent hope is that this Bill will be challenged as soon as it is signed, and it will clear the Federal Appeals Court before anyone on Supreme Court retires or dies...
