New York Passes Strictest Gun Laws in the Nation

New York has adopted tighter gun regulations that officials hope will limit future gun violence in the state.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the NY SAFE Act on Tuesday, after a whirlwind of legislative action pushed the package of bills through both houses of state government.

The laws, which strengthen the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, are the first following the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut. 

Many of the changes included in the SAFE Act were touted by Cuomo in his recent State of the State address.

One of the most publicized elements of the new restrictions is an outright ban on semi-automatic weapons with detachable magazines that have any features "commonly associated with military weapons."

Also included in the package are laws which make bringing a gun onto school grounds a felony, and allow some gun owners to keep their liscenses private — a decision for which The Journal News' gun map was likely the catalyst. 

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said most residents want the Legislature "to basically eradice assault weapons from our streets in New York as quickly as possible."

The National Rifle Association, unsurpisingly, voiced their opposition to the measure.

"These gun control schemes have failed in the past and will have no impact on public safety and crime," the National Rifle Association penned in a press release Tuesday. "Sadly, the New York Legislature gave no consideration to that reality."

Locally, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall praised Cuomo for pushing the laws through the legislature so quickly.

"Under Governor Andrew Cuomo’s leadership, groundbreaking and common sense legislation will add a greater measure of security and safety against gun homicides that have left innocent victims dead, left survivors broken-hearted and heightened apprehension and fear about guns that can kill many in a few moments that change lives forever," Marshall said.

State Sen. Joe Addabbo, D-Forest Hills, said that while he didn't agree with everything in the SAFE Act, he felt confident in voting for it.

The vast majority of the bill did warrant my support and does create a safer state for our people," Addabbo said. "By passing this bill, our state has taken huge steps in addressing the need to ban assault weapons, in considering the mental capability of those owning guns, in curtailing illegal gun sales, and in improving safety in our schools."