Governor Kathy Hochul signs gun laws (June 6, 2022)
Governor Kathy Hochul signed 10 bills Monday strengthening New York’s gun laws following a wave of deadly mass shootings.
New Yorkers who are under the age of 21 will now be prohibited from buying semiautomatic rifles under a new law. One of the bills requires microstamping in new firearms, which could help law enforcement solve gun-related crimes.
Another 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.
New York’s Legislature passed the bills last week, following 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. A Texas school shooting took the lives of 19 children and two teachers 10 days later.
Part of New York’s new law will also require all purchasers of semiautomatic rifles to get a license, something now required only for handguns.
Proposed federal legislation that would require buyers of semiautomatic weapons to be 21 is advancing in the U.S. House, but is seen as facing long odds in the Senate.
Hochul also signed a bill Monday that will restrict sales of bullet-resistant vests and armor only to people in certain professions.
The governor 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.
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