New York Criminal Attorney Blog
On June 6, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed 10 new gun control measures into law. These laws were hurriedly written and passed and appear to be a knee jerk reaction to the tragedies in Uvalde and Buffalo but will have a heavy impact on the New York Second amendment community. As New York Second Amendment lawyers we have been contacted by a large number of concerned citizens, firearms trainers and gun store owners about the impact of these laws. Taken as a whole these may be the stupidest gun laws ever written. Here is a brief summary of what passed and what it means with links to get more information about each one. .
S.9458/A.10503 makes it a felony to either purchase a semiautomatic rifle without a license or sell a semiautomatic rifle to someone who does not have a license. The new law also raises the minimum age to buy a semiautomatic rifle to 21 years of age. To read more about the law click here.
S.9407-B/A.10497 makes it a crime to purchase body armor except for individuals in “eligible professions”. It makes it a felony to sell body armor to someone who is not in an “eligible profession”. To read more about this law click here.
S.9113-A./A.10502 expands New York’s Extreme Risk Protection Order (Red Flag) law. The new law lists a large number of health care professionals that can file petitions and mandates that police officers and prosecutors file Petitions for Extreme Risk Protection Orders under certain circumstances. To read more about the expansion of extreme risk protection laws in New York click here.
S.4116-A/A.7926 this one is a perennial darling of the gun grabbers. It requires that all semiautomatic pistols sold in New York be equipped with “micro stamping” technology. The problem is that no such technology exists so the law only becomes effective four years after such micro stamping technology is technologically viable (if that ever happens). To read more about this law please click here.
S.9456/A.10504 brings other weapons such as the Mossberg Shockwave, Remington Tac 14 and AR-15 others into the definitions of firearms in New York therefore making them subject to SAFE Act restrictions and requiring that they be on a pistol license if there barrels are below the minimum lengths. To read more about this please click here.
S.9229-A/A.10428-A, changes the definition of large capacity ammunition feeding devices (magazines) to include magazines that were manufactured prior to 1994 and lawfully possessed prior to the 2013 enactment of the SAFE Act. To read more about how this affects possession of magazines please click here.
S.89-B/A.6716-A creates two new misdemeanor criminal offenses. One for “Making a Threat of Mass Harm” which is a class “B” misdemeanor and one for Aggravated Making a Threat of Mass Harm which is a class “A” misdemeanor.
S.4970A/A.1023A, requires information sharing with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and creates a new article of the General Business Law, 39-BB which has all types of rules about the operation of a gun store.
S.4511-A/A.7865-A, amends the General Business Law to require social media companies to have a mechanism to report hate speech and provide a direct response to people who report hate speech.
S.9465/A.10501 created a task force within the Attorney General’s Office on Social Media and Violent Extremism. The purpose of the task force is to investigate, study and make recommendations about the role social media companies play in propagating or promoting violent extremism.
Taken as a whole this set of laws represents a tremendous infringement on the Constitutional Rights of New Yorkers which are guaranteed under both the First and Second Amendment. These laws will be subject to intense litigation as to both their constitutionality and interpretation. We will continue to update our readers with any additional information or relevant Court decisions on the subject.