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Gun Purchase Limits Proposed In Assembly

A bill proposed in the state Assembly could make it much more difficult to purchase a firearm, shotgun or rifle in New York state.

Assemblywoman Chantel Jackson, D-Bronx, has proposed A.7771, which would amend the state Penal Law and the state Environmental Conservation Law to add several new qualifications before someone could purchase a gun. Among the items Jackson proposes is requiring a person to apply for a hunting license prior to the purchase of a shotgun or rifle; requires taking a five hour gun safety course and exam, passing a shooting range test with 90% accuracy, providing notarized proof of a passed drug test and mental health evaluation, providing proof of purchase of firearm and ammunition safe storage depositories and passing a criminal background check.

While there are 24 states that require time on the shooting range before issuing a concealed-carry permit for handguns, there are few such requirements on shotguns or rifles. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms requires gun buyers to fill out a Firearms Transaction Record that asks gun buyers if they use or are addicted to marijuana or other controlled substances, but a drug test is not required. Similar legislation was proposed in the state Senate in the 2019-20 legislative session but was never discussed by the Senate’s Codes Committee after its January 8, 2020, introduction by Sen. Kevin Parker, D- Brooklyn. The 2021 state legislative session ends on June 10, and most committees have held their last meetings of the current session, which means Jackson’s bill isn’t likely to be approved this year. But dozens of bills that have languished in the state Legislature for several previous sessions have been passed this year.

“This legislation will implement changes to the process by which licensing for a firearm can be obtained,” Jackson and Parker wrote in their legislative justification. “The changes address training, storage, and mental health. All key issues gun control activist are speaking about. Perhaps making the process a tad bit more detailed and lengthier may also assist in discouraging purchases made in anger.”

Similar legislation was proposed in the state Senate in the 2019-20 legislative session but was never discussed by the Senate’s Codes Committee after its January 8, 2020, introduction by Sen. Kevin Parker, D- Brooklyn. The 2021 state legislative session ends on June 10, and most committees have held their last meetings of the current session, which means Jackson’s bill isn’t likely to be approved this year. But dozens of bills that have languished in the state Legislature for several previous sessions have been passed this year.

Both Parker and Jackson note in their legislative justification that unlike the U.S. Constitution, whose Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms, there is no such guarantee in the New York Constitution.

“Mass shootings account for a small fraction of gun related deaths in the U.S.,” Jackson and Parker wrote in their legislative justification. “What has catapulted them to the top of the discussion list is the fact that they are uniquely terrifying because they occur without warning in the most mundane places.”

“Due to the rise in mass shootings, many New Yorkers are rushing to protect their families and homes by applying for pistol permits in order to purchase a firearm. Although the need to have protection is understandable, the notion that every citizen should possess a firearm is absurd. New York is one of six states whose constitution does not explicitly protect the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Being a “May Issue” policy state, the issuance of a firearm is at the discretion of the issuing officer.”

According to the Giffords Institute, a gun safety advocacy organization, New York has the fifth-strongest gun laws on the books among the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Only California, New Jersey, Connecticut and Hawaii rank better according to the Giffords Law Center’s annual gun law scorecard.

Conversely, according to AZ-Defenders.com, an Arizona-based law firm includes firearms crimes among its specialties, New York ranks last in the country for friendliness to gun owners, with Massachusetts, California, New Jersey and Connecticut joining New York in the bottom of the list. States ranking highly in the group’s list (Alaska, Arizona, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho) don’t require waiting periods or universal background checks, allow open carry of firearms, have no ammunition capacity limits and don’t ban any types of firearms.

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