BILL NUMBER:S2611

TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to the private
sale or disposal of firearms, rifles and shotguns

PURPOSE:

To exempt the holder of a valid NYS pistol license or relative of a
gun owner from the requirement of a background check when taking
possession of a rifle or shotgun.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 898 of the general business law to broaden
the definition of "immediate family" to include relatives by blood,
adoption or marriage as eligible to receive a long gun without the
necessity of a background check. It also exempts a holder of valid NYS
pistol license from the requirement to obtain a background check
before taking possession of a long gun.

Section 2 provides for an immediate effective date.

EXISTING LAW:

              

Current law requires certain blood or close relatives of a gun owner
to undergo a background check before the gun owner can transfer a
firearm to the relative. The exemption is narrow and limited in scope.
Current law also provides no waiver for a pistol licensee in spite of
the legal requirement that a licensee be fingerprinted and undergo a
comprehensive background check before a license is issued.

JUSTIFICATION:

For generations before the SAFE Act was hastily adopted, parents and
relatives gave or sold firearms to family members to keep heirlooms
within a family or to mark meritorious or significant occasions, such
as graduations, completion of sportsmen's education, birthdays or
Christmas. The SAFE Act changed that without any evidence that these
kinds of transfers posed a threat to public safety.

This extreme and draconian provision of Governor Cuomo's SAFE Act
defines the term "overreach." It requires that a close relative known
personally to a gun owner undergo a background check before taking
possession of a legal rifle or shotgun. Under the SAFE Act, for
example, a grandparent can not transfer to a grandchild a family
heirloom rifle or shotgun, or a gift to mark a special event such as a
birthday or graduation, without the ludicrous requirement that the
grandchild undergo a background check. The same applies to a gift or
sale to a nephew, niece, brother or sister-in-law -- relatives by
blood or marriage known to the donor. Oddly, the SAFE Act does not
include the term "parent" in the definition of "immediate family,"
raising the question whether an adult child could gift a hunting rifle
to his parent without the parent undergoing a background check.


While the intent of the law was to ensure that firearms are not
transferred to those legally barred from owning them, it has created
new obstacles to the time honored tradition of passing heirloom or
historic firearms to relatives, or gifting firearms to mark a special
occasion or milestone, further burdening the free exercise of one's
Second Amendment rights. Supporters of the original legislation did
not demonstrate any correlation between relatives gifting long guns to
their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews or parents, and
incidents of violence. For years, families have given firearms as
gifts or passed them down to succeeding generations without incident.
If approved, this bill would restore a measure of sanity and common
sense to the hastily approved SAFE Act by allowing an eligible adult
to sell, transfer or otherwise gift a legal firearm to a relative
known to him or her without a background check.

In addition, the proposed bill exempts holders of valid NYS pistol
licenses from the background check requirement when taking possession
of a long gun through private sale, gift or transfer. Under the Penal
Law, every applicant for a pistol license must undergo a comprehensive
criminal and mental history background check before a licensing
officer issues a pistol license. To require additional background
checks of a licensee in order to accept a rifle or shotgun is
duplicative, waste government's time and resources, and makes little
sense particularly in light of the new requirement that licenses be
updated every five years and existing legal safeguards.  Licensing
officers revoke or suspend the licenses of pistol license holders
charged with or convicted of crimes, so this exemption poses no public
safety hazard.

Finally, the SAFE Act requires that the required background check be
conducted by a dealer, although dealers are under no obligation to do
so and their fee is capped at ten dollars. Should a dealer decline to
conduct a transaction, an eligible gun owner could be unable, or find
it difficult, to legally transfer a firearm to a family member outside
the current definition of "immediate family," such as a parent,
grandchild, brother or sister, nephew, niece or in-law.

It should be noted that neither this bill, nor the subject section of
law, applies to the sale or transfer of handguns. Someone seeking to
take legal possession of a handgun or pistol must possess a valid New
York State pistol license and must obtain a purchase coupon from the
local licensing authority.

Section 265 of the penal law prohibits the transfer or sale of a
firearm to someone barred by law from possessing a weapon.  This bill
modifies an extreme and ineffective portion of the SAFE Act as it
pertains to transfers of long guns among family members and to law
abiding citizens who have withstood a rigorous background check in
order to hold a NYS pistol license.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None


EFFECTIVE DATE:

Immediate