Days after
calling for an overhaul of gun control in New York following the Connecticut
school shooting, Gov. Andrew Cuomo worked out a tough proposal on gun control
with legislative leaders who promised to pass the most restrictive gun law in
the nation.
The measure was
approved by the Senate Monday night, 43-18, on the strength of support from
Democrats, many of whom previously sponsored the bills that were once blocked by
Republicans.
The Democrat-led
Assembly gaveled out before midnight and planned to take the issue up at 10 a.m.
Tuesday. It is expected to pass easily.
It would be the
first state-level gun control legislation in the nation since the Newtown
massacre," reports CBS New York station WCBS-TV.
"This is a
scourge on society," Cuomo said Monday night, one month after the Newtown,
Conn., shooting that took the lives of 20 first graders and six educators. "At
what point do you say, 'No more innocent loss of life."'
"It is
well-balanced, it protects the Second Amendment," said Senate Republican leader
Dean Skelos of Long Island. “And there is no confiscation of weapons, which was
at one time being considered.”
"This is going
to go after those who are bringing illegal guns into the state, who are
slaughtering people in New York City," Skelos said. "This is going to put people
in jail and keep people in jail who shouldn't be out on the street in the first
place."
"This will be
the toughest gun control package in the nation," said Sen. Jeffrey Klein, leader
of the Independent Democrat Conference that shares majority control with
Republican senators. "All in all, it is a comprehensive, balanced approach that
will save lives," Klein said in an interview.
Cuomo said he
wanted quick action to avoid a run on assault rifles and ammunition as he tries
to address what he estimates is about 1 million assault rifles in New York
state. He made it a centerpiece of his progressive agenda in last week's State
of the State address.
Republican Sen.
Greg Ball called that political opportunism in a rare criticism of the popular
and powerful governor seen by his supporters as a possible candidate for
president in 2016.
"We haven't
saved any lives tonight, except one: the political life of a governor who wants
to be president," said Ball who represents part of the Hudson Valley. "We have
taken an entire category of firearms that are currently legal that are in the
homes of law-abiding, tax paying citizens. ... We are now turning those
law-abiding citizens into criminals."
The governor
confirmed the proposal, previously worked out in closed session, called for a
tougher assault weapons ban and restrictions on ammunition and the sale of guns,
as well as a mandatory police registry of assault weapons, grandfathering in
assault weapons already in private hands.
It would create
a more powerful tool to require the reporting of mentally ill people who say
they intend to use a gun illegally and would address the unsafe storage of guns,
the governor confirmed.
The bill is
designed "to basically eradicate assault weapons from our streets in New York as
quickly as possible is something the people of this state want and it's an
important thing to do. It is an emergency," Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told
WCBS-TV. "We are going to ban assault weapons. We are going to eliminate all of
the loopholes that existed previously."
Under current
state law, assault weapons are defined by having two "military rifle" features
spelled out in the law. The proposal would reduce that to one feature and
include the popular pistol grip.
Private sales of
assault weapons to someone other than an immediate family member would be
subject to a background check through a dealer. Also, Internet sales of assault
weapons would be banned, and failing to safely store a weapon could be subject
to a misdemeanor charge.
Ammunition
magazines would be restricted to seven bullets, from the current 10, and current
owners of higher-capacity magazines would have a year to sell them out of state.
An owner caught at home with eight or more bullets in a magazine could face a
misdemeanor charge.
In another
provision, a therapist who believes a mental health patient made a credible
threat to use a gun illegally would be required to report the incident to a
mental health director who would have to report serious threats to the state
Department of Criminal Justice Services. A patient's gun could be taken from him
or her.
The legislation
also increases sentences for gun crimes, including the shooting of a first
responder that Cuomo called the "Webster provision." Last month in the western
New York town of Webster, two firefighters were killed after responding to a
fire set by the shooter, who eventually killed himself. CBS
News
Press TV.
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