New York Safe Act

December 16, 2014: Provisions governing ammunition sales within the NY SAFE Act have caused unrest amongst firearm retailers and consumers who want to insure that they are selling/purchasing ammunition legally.  An open letter in early 2014 from NY State Police Superintendent Joseph D'Amico noted, in pertinent part, that "the [SAFE Act] requires that as of January 15, 2014, all ammuniti...

August 6, 2014:  Three amicus briefs were filed in the Second Circuit yesterday in support of upholding the constitutionality of the NY Safe Act. In one of the briefs, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, joined by eight other states (CA, CT, DE, HI, IL, IA, MA, OR) and the District of Columbia, argued that public safety is a compelling governmental interest that should be considered in ap...

August 4, 2014: Last week, New York legislators filed Respondents’ Brief in the Second Circuit, addressing arguments made by the plaintiffs that the NY Safe Act violates the Second Amendment. The brief, submitted by Assistant Solicitor General Claude S. Platton, argues that the “assault weapons” and large-capacity magazines regulated by the Safe Act are not within the core protections of the...

May 9, 2014:  This week, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. (NSSF) and a number of other groups joined the fight against the New York SAFE Act by filing amicus curiae briefs in the pending appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association et al. v. Cuomo et al.  (more…)

May 8, 2014: Last week, the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association filed its appellate brief in support of its challenge to the New York SAFE Act, which is currently on appeal to the Second Circuit.  New York State's brief is due on July 29th.

April 28, 2014: In New York, the SAFE Act’s mental illness reporting provisions resulted in a recent permit revocation after the permit holder expressed guilt to his therapist over some lewd acts.  Concluding that the permit holder presented a potential danger to himself and others, the therapist reported the matter to the county.  The Supreme Court of New York, Otsego County, subse...

March 31, 2014: On December 31, 2013, Judge William Skretny of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York declared the 7 round loading limitation of Penal Law 265.37 unconstitutional.  Nearly three months later, the New York State Police, Office of General Counsel, has revised its field guide to enforcing the New York SAFE Act to officially instruct state troopers not t...

January 3, 2014: The last week has produced both clarification and confusion for New Yorkers interested in complying with the NY SAFE Act.  Tuesday marked the conclusion (at least for the moment) of the most comprehensive legal challenge to the NY SAFE Act. That lawsuit, filed in early 2013 by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, asserted that various provisions of the NY SAFE Act viol...

November 4, 2013: The NY SAFE Act’s ammunition background checks and sales information recording requirements will not go into effect in January.  The terms of the statute require background checks for all ammunition sales and require sellers to record various information concerning each ammunition sale, including the name, age and occupation of the purchaser and the manufacturer, type and lo...

October 25, 2013: A guide to the NY Safe Act prepared for the New York State Police recently became public.  The 17-page guide (available here) provides explanations on various provisions of the NY Safe Act, including, for instance, the differences in penalties for possession of a magazine loaded with more than 7 rounds in the home versus the penalties for possessing such a magazine anywhere ...

In the wake of the hastily enacted NY SAFE Act, numerous flaws and inconsistencies were identified.  Recently, the Act was amended to correct several of the most significant problems contained in the Act.  First, the Act was amended to correct  a failure to provide basic exemptions from the Acts provisions for certain individuals such as law enforcement officers, retailers, distribu...

Large capacity magazines.  The ban on loading a magazine with more than seven rounds, unless at a qualified range or shooting competition, became effective today, April 15, 2013.  Given a recent amendment to the NY SAFE Act, it continues to be legal in New York to purchase or sell a magazine with a capacity of up to ten rounds. Registration of grandfath...

New York has amended the NY SAFE Act to: Allow sales of magazines with ten or fewer rounds.  This change was prompted by Governor Cuomo’s realization that seven-round magazines were not generally available for many popular brands of firearms.  The ban on loading a magazine with more than seven rounds, unless at a qualified range or shooting competition, w...

On March 21, 2013, a group of plaintiffs led by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court in Buffalo, New York against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and other state officials pleading that the NY SAFE Act violates their rights under the United States Constitution: Banning magazines with a capacity of more than 7 or 10 rounds of ammunition.&...

Sheldon Silver, the Democratic head of New York’s Assembly, is proposing that the NY SAFE Act be amended to allow for sales of new ten round magazines, an increase from the limit of seven rounds which will apply beginning April 15, 2013. Governor Cuomo is reported to oppose this change.  News reports can be found here and here. Renzulli Law Firm is Monitoring NY SAFE Act Developments Renzulli...

On March 13, 2013, a New York State judge denied a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop enforcement of the NY SAFE Act, rejecting the argument that the NY SAFE Act was improperly adopted in violation of a three-day legislative waiting period required by the New York State constitution.   New York’s constitution has an exception to the three-day waiting period when the Governor ...

The NY SAFE Act requires that beginning March 15, 2013 1 private sales of firearms in New York can only be made after a NICS background check overseen by a licensed firearm dealer (”FFL”).   The only exception is for a sale or transfer to a spouse, domestic partner, child or step-child.  The FFL is supposed to keep a record of the transaction for a fee of no more than $10.00.  ...

In December 2012, prior to adoption of the NY SAFE Act, The Journal News, a suburban New York newspaper, gained national attention by publishing an online interactive map to show the names and addresses of licensed handgun owners in Westchester and Rockland counties.  The newspaper had obtained this information by submitting requests to local authorities under New York’s Freedom of Informatio...

The following summarizes noteworthy recent developments regarding the NY SAFE Act: Whether the NY SAFE Act’s bans on assault weapons and large capacity magazines are in conflict with the Heller decision will be a key question put to New York courts in the constitutional challenge being brought by a group of New York-based firearm organizations, which we reported on previous...

A group of New York-based firearm organizations led the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, with support from the National Rifle Association, has filed a notice of claim as a first step in bringing a constitutional challenge against the NY SAFE Act.  The notice of claim can be found here. The firearm organizations say that the NY SAFE ACT violates their rights under both the United...

On January 15, 2013, New York State adopted the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013 (NY SAFE Act) as a legislative priority of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.  For information on the NY SAFE Act, click here.  The proposed federal Assault Weapons Ban of 2013, introduced by Senator Diane Feinstein, is currently being debated in the U.S. Senate.  For information on the pro...

On January 15, 2013, New York State adopted the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013 (NY SAFE Act) as a legislative priority of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.  The entire 53-page text of the NY SAFE Act can be found here. The NY SAFE Act includes the following provisions: Expanded ban on “assault weapons.” Rifles, shotguns and handguns with certain characteristics are defined...