NY governor signs gun reform bills into law, prohibits under age 21 to own semiautomatic rifle

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau

NEW YORK, 7^th June.New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday has signed gun reform bills into law which prohibits New Yorkers under age 21 from buying semiautomatic rifles under a new law, according to a statement released by the Governor’s office in the Capital Albany, N.Y.,

Hochul marked the state one of the first to enact a major gun control initiative after series of deadly mass shootings in Texas, Buffalo and across the United States.

She signed 10 public safety-related bills, including one that will require microstamping in new firearms, which could help law enforcement solve gun-related crimes.

Governor Hochul also revised the state’s “red flag” law, which allows courts to temporarily take away guns from people who might be a threat to themselves or others.

Hochul said at a press conference in the Bronx that “In New York, we are taking bold, strong action. We’re tightening red flag laws to keep guns away from dangerous people.”

“This is a moral moment for the people of New York but also the rest of the nation,” Hochul said. “Follow what we did here in New York, and we’ll finally start to be at the beginning of the end of all this gun violence and the massacres that are occurring every day in our country.”

“We are microstamping bullets so law enforcement can have an easier time catching criminals, and we are losing loopholes so that firearms that are being so cleverly manufactured and alerted cannot evade our laws anymore,” Hochul said. “There’s more to do.”

The “red flag” law allows courts to temporarily take away guns from people who might be a threat to themselves or others.

New York’s Legislature passed the bills last week, pushed the changes after a pair of mass shootings involving 18-year-old gunmen using semiautomatic rifles. Ten Black people died in a racist attack on a Buffalo supermarket May 14 and Texas school shooting where 19 children and two teachers died.

Most people under age 21 had been banned from owning handguns in New York, officials said.

People age 18 and over will still be allowed to own other types of long guns, including shotguns and bolt-action rifles.

New York’s new law will also require all purchasers of semiautomatic rifles to get a license, something now required only for handguns, the statement said.

Hochul also signed a bill that will restrict sales of bullet-resistant vests and armor only to people in certain professions.

She said New York will continue to invest in prevention of gun-related crimes by partnering with local communities and continuing to strengthen laws by putting pressure on Congress.

“Today is the start, and it’s not the end,” said Hochul.

“Thoughts and prayers won’t fix this, but taking strong action will. We will do that in the name of the lives that have been lost, for the parents who will no longer see their children stepping off the school bus,” she added.

The regulations largely impact areas outside New York City, which requires permits to possess, carry and purchase any type of firearm and prohibits most applicants under 21.

In other States people as young as 16 can possess long guns like rifles and shotguns without a license.

New York joins a handful of states — including Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Vermont, and Washington that require buyers to be at least 21 instead of 18 to purchase some types of long guns. Similar legislation has been proposed in Utah.

California tried to change the legal buying age for semiautomatic weapons has been challenged in court.

U.S. Appeals court panel ruled 2-1 that the state’s ban on the sale of semiautomatic weapons to adults under 21 is unconstitutional.

The National Rifle Association is challenging Florida’s ban on the sale of rifles and other firearms to adults under age 21, which was passed in the wake of a 2018 shooting that killed 17 students and staff at a high school in Parkland.

Another bill set to pass in New York would require new guns to be equipped with microstamping technology, which would allow law enforcement investigators to more easily link weapons to fired bullets.

New York is expected to pass legislation that would restrict the purchase of body armor and expand the list of people who can apply for an extreme risk protection order, a court order that can temporarily prohibit someone from purchasing or possessing a firearm if they are believed to be a danger to them or others.