NY State Senate Bill 2021-S9480

Senate Bill S9480

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Relates to criminal possession of semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and pistols by persons under the age of twenty-one

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 03, 2022	referred to codes

2021-S9480 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§265.01 & 265.10, Pen L

2021-S9480 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits the criminal possession of semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and pistols by persons under the age of twenty-one unless such person was eighteen prior to January 1, 2023.

2021-S9480 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9480

SPONSOR: REICHLIN-MELNICK
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to criminal possession of
semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and pistols by persons under the age of
twenty-one

 
PURPOSE:

To require that a person must be at least 21 years of age to own a semi-
automatic rifle, semiautomatic shotgun, or semiautomatic pistol.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends Section 265.01 of the penal law by adding a new
subdivision making it illegal for any person under the age of twenty-one
to own a semiautomatic weapon.

Section two amends Section 265.10 of the penal law by adding a new
subdivision making it illegal for any person to provide a semiautomatic

weapon to a person under the age of twenty-one, punishable as a class A
misdemeanor.

Section three contains the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Gun Violence Archive has calculated that the United States has been
devastated by over 200 mass shootings and over 20 school shootings in
2022. The most recent mass shooting in Buffalo took the lives of 10
people and the Uvalde school shooting took the lives of 21 people
including 19 elementary school children. According to Scientific Ameri-
can, mass school shootings are almost always committed by young men or
boys, with an average age of just eighteen years old.

The perpetrator of the most recent mass school shooting at Robb Elemen-
tary School in Uvalde, Texas purchased a military-style rifle shortly
after his 18th birthday from a federally licensed dealer. In the United
States an 18-year-old can not legally purchase or consume alcohol, and
in the state of New York they also cannot purchase tobacco products or
rent a car, however, they can legally purchase a gun with the capability
to murder dozens of people in a matter of minutes.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has found that
adolescents have not fully developed their frontal cortex so they are
more likely "act on impulse; misread or misinterpret social cues and
emotions; get into accidents of all kinds; get involved in fights; and
engage in dangerous or risky behavior" They are also less likely to
"think before they act; pause to consider the consequences of their
actions; and change their dangerous or inappropriate behaviors.  While
eighteen to twenty-one year olds are legally deemed adults, develop-
mentally they are still growing and their access to semiautomatic weap-
ons should be limited.

By limiting access for adolescents to weapons with the propensity to be
used for mass shooter events, countless lives could be saved - especial-
ly the lives of children often targeted by mass shooters in the 16-21
age range. This common sense protection ensures that 16-21 year olds
will still have access to firearms for hunting and for target shooting,
but will reserve access to the most lethal civilian firearms for adults
ages twenty-one years of age and older.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New legislation.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S9480 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9480
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 3, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. REICHLIN-MELNICK -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation  to  criminal  possession  of
   semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and pistols by persons under the age of
   twenty-one
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 265.01 of the penal law is amended by adding a  new
 subdivision 11 to read as follows:
   (11)  HE OR SHE POSSESSES A SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLE, A SEMIAUTOMATIC SHOT-
 GUN OR A SEMIAUTOMATIC  PISTOL  DEFINED  IN  SUBDIVISION  TWENTY-ONE  OF
 SECTION  265.00 OF THIS ARTICLE AND IS UNDER THE AGE OF TWENTY-ONE YEARS
 OLD, EXCEPT IF HE OR SHE WAS OVER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN PRIOR  TO  JANUARY
 FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE.
   § 2. Section 265.10 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi-
 vision 9 to read as follows:
   9.  ANY  PERSON WHO DISPOSES OF ANY SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLE, SEMIAUTOMATIC
 SHOTGUN OR SEMIAUTOMATIC PISTOL DEFINED  IN  SUBDIVISION  TWENTY-ONE  OF
 SECTION  265.00  OF  THIS  ARTICLE  TO ANY OTHER PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF
 TWENTY-ONE YEARS IS GUILTY OF A CLASS A MISDEMEANOR  UNLESS  SUCH  OTHER
 PERSON WAS OVER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN PRIOR TO JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND
 TWENTY-THREE.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15987-01-2

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