ALBANY, N.Y. (WKBW) — In the wake of the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, New York State lawmakers making sweeping changes to gun laws.
Late Thursday night the State Senate and Assembly both passed a package of bills cracking down on gun violence. The bills include banning the sale and possession of semi-automatic rifles for anyone under the age of 21, requiring anyone wanting to buy one of those rifles receive a permit, restricting civilian purchases of bullet-resistant body armor, and require new guns be equipped with microstamping technology which would help law enforcement investigators trace bullets to specific firearms.
I hope people will think twice about what it is they are doing. If they're not we already have background checks, now this permitting process is going to happen. We will force them through the permitting process to think about what they are going to do with a weapon of mass destruction."
The package voted along party lines, passing in the Senate 43-20 and in the Assembly 102-47.
I will not accept passing more laws that fail to address the source of the problem as the only solution. I encourage my colleagues to put politics aside and work with us on policies that will stop preventable violence and make New York State safer.
The bill package now heads to Governor Hochul's desk for her signature.
Aside from the potential legal challenges coming from this bill package, New York State is also awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court on concealed carry laws. Right now state law says you must prove a need for a permit in order to conceal carry. If the Supreme Court strikes down this law, it could have a wider impact across the country, a number of other states having similar laws on the books. A ruling is expected in the coming days.
