The New York State Assembly has completed the final stages necessary for the passage and implementation of a bill that will broaden restrictions on the sale of assault weapons and ammunition and enact stronger measures to keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill. For instance, any mental healthcare provider in the state of New York who has credible reason to believe a patient is likely to harm someone else is now required to report it to a mental health director who is in turn required to report it to the state Department of Criminal Justice Services, who would then determine if the patient possessed any firearms and whether or not those firearms should be confiscated.
Other specific measures within the bill include requiring background checks for all gun sales in the state with the exception of sales between immediate family members. Ammunition sales will also require background checks and ammunition dealers must report all sales to the state. The law also mandates a sentence of life in prison without parole for anyone who is found guilty of murdering a first responder.
Additionally, anyone who has a protective order placed upon them will have any firearms they may possess confiscated.
The bill passed in the state Senate by a vote of 43-18 before being approved by the state Assembly by a vote of 104-43. Once the Assembly approved it, Governor Andrew Cuomo wasted no time in signing it into law.
Cuomo commented that “…the high-capacity magazines that give you the capacity to kill a large number of human beings in a very short period of time is nonsensical to a civil society.”
“This will be the toughest gun control package in the nation,” Senator Jeffrey Klein, leader of the Independent Democratic Conference said, “All in all; it is a comprehensive, balanced approach that will save lives.”
“The responsible and comprehensive gun reform bills the governor signed into law today will help keep guns away from criminals and others who are already prohibited from purchasing them,” New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
“Passing today’s legislation was the least my colleagues and I could do to honor the memory of those lost in 2012,” said Representative Daniel O’Donnell. “Even one injury or death from gun-related violence is too many, and last year our country felt the shock and grief these events bring all too frequently,” he said.
