New York law makers began their new session on January 8, 2020, marking the second year since 2010 that Democrats have had full control of the state government. Seizing on this opportunity to prevent Republicans from using their state senate majority to block proposed firearms measures, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has proposed six gun control bills in his 2021 Executive Budget.
These proposed bills include measures to (1) prohibit the purchase and assembly of firearms without serial numbers by those who cannot legally possess firearms; (2) authorize the seizure of firearms from the scene of domestic violence incidents; (3) deny firearm permits and licenses to applicants who committed certain misdemeanors in other states; (4) require firearm crime data to be kept in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ centralized database for use by law enforcement; (5) share “red flag” mental health concerns of firearm owners with authorities in other states; and (6) create a “domestic violence misdemeanor” that, if convicted, prohibits abusers from accessing firearms.
If approved, the laws would join the dozens of gun control measures already adopted and proposed in the 2019-2020 legislative session. “We should not deny our communities and our state this opportunity that has been granted to us, of controlling both houses and the governor’s office, to pass tough measures of gun control in this session,” said New York Assembly Member Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn), who has sponsored several of the gun control bills.
The New York State Legislature will now deliberate over Governor Cuomo’s proposed budget in hopes of having an on-time deal for the start of the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2020. Renzulli Law Firm will continue to monitor and report any developments with this proposed legislation.