NY governor signs law raising age to own semiautomatic rifle

Albany, NY, June 7 (BUS): New Yorkers under the age of 21 will be barred from purchasing semi-automatic rifles under a new law signed Monday by New York Gov. Cathy Hochhol, making the state one of the first to enact a major gun control initiative. After a spate of deadly mass shootings.


Hochul, a Democrat, has signed 10 public safety bills, including one requiring an accurate stamp in new firearms, that could help law enforcement solve gun-related crimes, the AP reports.


Another revised the state’s “red flag” law, which allows courts to temporarily withdraw guns from people who may pose a threat to themselves or others.


“In New York, we are taking bold, strong action. We are tightening red flag laws to keep guns away from dangerous people,” Hochul told a news conference in the Bronx.


The New York legislature passed the bills last week, pushing the changes after a mass shooting involving 18-year-old gunmen using semi-automatic rifles. Ten black people were killed in a racist attack on a Buffalo supermarket on May 14. A Texas school shooting killed 19 children and two teachers 10 days later.


New York’s quick action has exposed a further sharp divide between Republican and Democratic leaders over how to respond to gun violence.


Texas Governor Greg Abbott said after the Ovaldi massacre of children that the government should increase security in schools and mental health resources, but the Republican says stricter gun laws are ineffective.


Fellow Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee echoed the same sentiments on Monday, a day after a shooting near a nightclub in Chattanooga left three dead and several wounded.

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In New York, most people under the age of 21 have already been banned from owning handguns. People 18 or older will still be allowed to own other types of long guns, including shotguns and bolt action rifles.


Part of the new New York law will also require all buyers of semi-automatic rifles to have a license, which is now required only for handguns.


Proposed federal legislation requiring buyers of semi-automatic weapons to be 21 is progressing in the US House of Representatives, but is seen as facing long-term odds in the Senate.


A handful of states require people to be 21 to buy any firearms, including Florida, which raised the age to legally buy a gun after a 19-year-old gunman killed 17 people at a high school.


Hochul also signed a bill Monday that would limit sales of bulletproof vests and body armor to people in certain occupations only.


The governor said New York will continue to invest in preventing gun-related crimes by partnering with local communities and continue to strengthen laws by lobbying Congress.


Today is the beginning, not the end,” Hochul said. “Thoughts and prayers will not fix this, but strong action will do. We will do it in the name of lives lost, for the sake of parents who will no longer see their children get off the school bus.”









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