NY SAFE Act

The New York State Senate approved the act on a 43–18 vote on January 14, 2013. The vote was bipartisan, with nine Senate Republicans voting in favor. State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein sponsored the legislation. The following day (the second full day of the 2013 legislative session), the New York State Assembly approved the legislation by a 104–43 vote, and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law less than one hour later. Cuomo described the law as the toughest gun control law in the United States. The bill passed under the "message of necessity" procedure, a device in the New York State Constitution by which the governor may expedite a vote on a bill, bypassing a usual three-day waiting period. Although nominally used for emergencies, the "message of necessity" procedure has been frequently used in New York to pass many pieces of legislation (it has been used at least 415 times since 1938). ==Provisions==

The NY SAFE Act includes the following provisions: • The Act broadened the legal definition of assault weapon to include those semi-automatic rifles, semi-automatic pistols (handguns), and semi-automatic shotguns with one or more "military-style features, such as a telescoping stock, bayonet mount, flash suppressor, grenade launcher and others." This "one-feature test" was a change from the previous "two-feature test," enacted in New York in 2000, which barred such weapons if they had two or more of the enumerated features. The bill provided a "grandfathering" provision allowing those with an assault weapon (under the newer, broader definition), to keep the weapon, but required that it be registered with the New York State Police (with a thirteen-month period to register and a deadline of April 15, 2014). and this ruling was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2015. According to that language, beginning on April 15, 2013, only magazines with a capacity of seven rounds could legally be sold in New York. (Under the Act, online ammunition sales to New Yorkers remain legal, but online buyers are required to purchase ammunition through a licensed dealer in the state and obtain the ammunition in person). As of August 2019, the provisions of the Act regarding ammunition background checks have never been implemented because a state database that would make such checks possible has not been created. In 2015, Governor Cuomo and Senate entered into an unusual "memorandum of understanding" suspending the ammunition background check provisions of the Act, citing a "lack of adequate technology." The memo stated that the database "cannot be established and/or function in the manner originally intended at this time." The memo did not formally amend the Act or have legal effect; according to the governor's office, however, it "provides assurances to all that the database will not be implemented until it is ready and tested." Under this provision, which went into effect on March 16, 2013, mental health professionals currently providing treatment services to an individual must make a report to authorities, "if they conclude, using reasonable professional judgment, that the individual is likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to self or others." • The Act requires owners to report lost or stolen guns and ammunition to authorities, and makes it a misdemeanor to fail to report such a loss or theft within 24 hours. • The Act created a universal background check provision, requiring all sellers or other transferors of firearms and ammunition to conduct background checks (through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS The Act requires that a prospective firearm transferor and transferee process the sale via a federally licensed dealer (FFL), but "does not mandate that FFLs play this processing role." • The Act amended New York Penal Law to establish "tougher penalties for those who use illegal guns as well as measures to help combat gang violence." • The Act increases illegal possession of an unloaded gun and possession of a firearm on school grounds or a school from misdemeanors to a Class E felonies. • The Act permits the holders of handgun permit "to request that their application information be made exempt from disclosure under state Freedom of Information Law." This was in response to a controversial website set up in 2010 that published the names of permit holders. ==Support==

Support for the SAFE Act was strongly polarized by region, with support in New York City and its suburbs, but heavy opposition in upstate New York. Fourteen months after its passage, a Siena College poll showed that 63% of registered New York voters statewide said that they support the SAFE Act, but only 45% of upstate voters did. The New York Times reported that in Upstate New York, "Counties, towns and villages have passed resolutions denouncing the laws, and some counties have even demanded that their official seals not be used on any paperwork relating to them. In response to an open records request, the governor's office shared hundreds of pages of such resolutions, from far-flung places like the Adirondack town of North Hudson, with 238 residents, to more populous areas like Erie County." Following the passage of the Act, the New York State Sheriff's Association (NYSSA) wrote a letter offering a mixed opinion on the SAFE Act. The NYSSA favored the parts of the law that enhanced sentences for violent offenses committed with a gun, expanded background checks, and mandated safe storage of guns in households that included a member ineligible to legally use guns. The NYSSA opposed the parts of the law that expanded the definition of assault weapons, limited magazine usage, and limited ammunition sales via the Internet. ==Criticism==

A number of rallies opposing the law have been held at the New York State Capitol in Albany; one in 2014 featured Donald Trump, Rob Astorino, and Carl Paladino, and drew over 3,000 people. Smaller pro-SAFE Act rallies have also occurred in Albany. The law was criticized as "rushed through" by the state legislature without consideration of whether it would criminalize police and other law enforcement officers who carry firearms with magazines with a larger capacity than those allowed for civilians. Republicans in the New York Legislature have made a number of unsuccessful efforts over a series of years to repeal the Act; these efforts have been led by State Senator Kathleen A. Marchione and State Assemblyman Marc Butler. Some mental health experts expressed concerns that the law might interfere with their treatment of potentially dangerous individuals, or discourage such people from seeking treatment. The United States Veterans Health Administration (VA) has already said they will not comply with the provision requiring release of certain mental health records as it violates federal patient confidentiality laws. Others argued that this is a backdoor ban on handgun sales, noting that seven-round magazines simply do not exist for many popular models. After realizing seven-round magazines do not exist for most firearms, New York governor Andrew Cuomo reversed his position on the seven-round limit, stating, "There is no such thing as a seven-bullet magazine [sic]. That doesn't exist, so you really have no practical option." He went on to say the state needs to allow the sale of handguns and rifles with ten-round magazines, but requires the people of New York only load seven rounds in them, except at shooting ranges and competitions. He claimed the law is still enforceable. Cuomo and New York State Senate leaders planned an indefinite suspension of the seven-round magazine limit until they could rewrite the measure. In March 2013 during budget negotiations, Cuomo and lawmakers agreed to continue to allow 10-round magazines to be sold, but could still only be loaded with 7 cartridges. As of 2015, the number of assault weapons registered had not met expectations, suggesting mass non-compliance with the law. Only around 45,000 such registrations were performed, while the estimated number of assault weapons requiring registration neared 1 million. ==Legal challenges==

On March 11, 2013, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it would not follow the provision of the NY SAFE Act requiring mental health professionals to report patients who seem more likely to hurt themselves or others. A Department spokesman stated that federal laws protecting the privacy of veterans take precedence over state laws. Advocates for military veterans had expressed concern that the reporting requirement would deter some people from seeking needed treatment. Robert L. Schulz and several hundred other gun-rights activists pursued a legal challenge against the NY SAFE Act in New York state court, arguing that the act was unconstitutional as Governor Cuomo's use of a "message of necessity" to waive the usual three-day waiting period had violated the New York State Constitution. Judge Thomas J. McNamara of the New York Supreme Court denied the plaintiffs' request for an injunction and later dismissed the challenge, finding no constitutional violation. A separate challenge took place in federal court. In December 2013, Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny, of the Federal District Court in Buffalo, upheld most of the New York SAFE Act, saying that its provisions "further the state's important interest in public safety.... it does not totally disarm New York's citizens; and it does not meaningfully jeopardize their right to self-defense". Since the 2022 NYSRPA v. Bruen Supreme Court decision striking down another New York gun law, the Sullivan Act (a law pertaining to the application of a pistol/conceal carry permit) from 1911, as unconstitutional, the old standard of interest balancing for deciding the constitutionality of a law has been abolished. Under the previous standard, a law found to be a violation of the Second Amendment could be upheld if it was in the state's interest of public safety. Under the new standard, interest balancing no longer exists. Rather, a law may be struck down if it is a violation of the Second Amendment and if there is no text, history, or tradition of a similar law dating back to the ratification of the Second Amendment in the 1780s. Due to the recent changes, new challenges to the SAFE Act and other New York gun laws have been proposed and discussed. ==Subsequent amendments==

The NY SAFE Act as originally passed did not explicitly exempt police officers from some of the law's provisions, such as the seven-round limit, although older law (not repealed by the NY SAFE Act) did provide such an exemption. This prompted some initial confusion, but the office of Governor Andrew Cuomo said soon after passage that police officers were exempt from the seven-round limit. In July 2013, Cuomo signed into law a measure that expressly exempted qualified retired law enforcement officers from some of the provisions of the Act. The exemption allows retired officers (who served for at least ten years and left in good standing) to retain guns and magazines purchased as part of official duty, so long as registered with the state within 60 days of retiring. ==Impact on gun manufacturers==

In 2013, Justin Moon's Kahr Arms of Pearl River, a gun manufacturer, announced that it would be moving its headquarters from New York to Pennsylvania after the passing of the NY SAFE Act. The company also announced that it would be building a manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, rather than Orange County, New York, as it had looked into. AR15.com moved in 2013 from Farmington to Texas after passage of the act. In 2014, the Remington Arms Co. decided to open a manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Alabama. The president of United Mine Workers Local 717, which represents workers at Remington's existing plant in Ilion, New York expressed fears about the future of the New York facility and citing the NY SAFE Act for the company's decision to expand in Alabama rather than New York. Subsequently, about 100 Remington jobs were shifted from New York to Alabama; a Remington Outdoor Company CEO said that the SAFE Act (alongside other factors such as "workforce quality, business environment, tax and economic incentives, and existing infrastructure") contributed to the shift. ==See also==