GunsNew York to make state’s strict gun laws even stricter

New York State is close to an agreement on a proposal to put some of the toughest gun-control laws into effect. The laws include an ironclad ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines as well as new measures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and mentally ill people.

The New York Times reports that lawmakers in Albany want to send a message to the rest of the nation that the mass shootings that have taken place in recent years need to stop. Lawmakers hope to vote on the legislation this week.

Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker and democrat, told the  Times last week that New York governor Mario Cuomo and  legislative leaders were “95 percent” of the way to an agreement. Senate Republicans have indicated that they will not block a deal

“When you hear about these issues all across the nation, whether it’s in the movie theater in Aurora, Colo., or Columbine, something needs to happen —  something transformative,” Senator Timothy Kennedy, a Democrat from Buffalo told the Times.

Cuomo’s aides said the proposed legislation would expand the definition of what is considered an assault weapon to match California’s law, which is the most restrictive in the country. According to the aides, the overall package will limit magazine clips to seven rounds and require background check on purchases of ammunition, not just guns.

Currently only six states limit the size of magazines, and most of those states allow up to ten rounds per magazine, according to a survey by the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. If the law passes, New York would have the toughest restrictions on magazine capacity in the country.

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has praised Cuomo’s plan for gun control.

“I was particularly struck by his passionate leadership on gun violence,”  Bloomberg said in a statement. “New York State has led the nation with strong, common-sense gun laws, and the governor’s new proposals will build on that tradition.”

Cuomo created a controversy late last year when he stated that “confiscation could be an option” for existing assault weapons, but he backed off that statement last week.

“This is not about taking away people’s guns,” he said in his State of the State address. “It is about ending the unnecessary risk of high-capacity assault rifles. That’s what this is about.”

Gun-rights groups plan to fight the new restrictions tooth and nail.

“We fully expect that New York State’s gun owners will be completely engaged in this debate and NRA will be there to lead them,” Chris Cox, the chief lobbyist for the National Rifle Association  told the Times. The NRA has donated more money to state politicians in New York than anywhere else, much of it to Senate Republicans.

Budd Schroeder, the chairman of the Shooters Committee on Political Education, a New York-based gun rights organization, said he plans to meet with every state senator he knows to ask them to stand up to Cuomo.

“The legislators are going to be getting a lot of phone calls in their district offices,” Schroeder said. “How is taking away my rights to own any type of firearm I choose going to change the attitude of a criminal?”