by Joseph P. Tartaro Executive Editor
One week after the New York state legislature had adjourned its
regular session, the state’s leadership troika pulled lawmakers
back for extra innings on June 20 and 21 to pass a modified version
of Republican Gov. George E. Pataki’s sweeping multi-faceted
gun proposal.
The anti-gun media over-reported the implications of the measure.
What passed was a far cry from what Pataki had originally proposed
in March. In fact, anti-gun activists are already whining that
it didn’t go far enough.
Gun Week’s report and analysis of S-8234 (A-11535) will follow
an explanation of how passage was possible. However, we recommend
that every interested person obtain a copy of the actual bill
and study it. Hard copies are available from lawmakers’ Albany
or district offices, or on-line at: http://assembly.state.ny.us/cgi-bin/showtest?billnum=S08234.
A summary of the changes includes:
Passage of the omnibus gun law was made possible only because
of a deal between the three kingpins of state power—the governor,
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-New York City) and Senate Majority
Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Saratoga)—and a cave-in by enough
Long Island GOP senators to pass a gun bill in the Republican-controlled
state Senate.
For the past 20 or 30 years, Democrats, who have a big majority
in the state Assembly, have promoted and even passed anti-gun
legislation only to have it fail because the GOP-controlled Senate
either bottled it up in committee or rejected it outright. The
dike holding back anti-gun measures in the state, even against
powerful anti-gun governors like Nelson Rockefeller, Mario Cuomo
and Hugh Carey, has traditionally been the GOP Senate. Whenever
anti-gun measures have passed in New York, it has been because
enough Republicans—usually from Long Island and New York
City—abandoned their constituents and the rest of the party.
That’s what happened in June.
Armed with questionable polls claiming that 70% of the people
in every county of the state supported the Pataki gun initiative
and bolstered by a powerful anti-gun media—especially the
rabidly anti-gun Newsday which dominates populous Long Island,
Pataki, Silver and Bruno met behind closed doors and put together
a deal that motivated or browbeat enough GOP senators to change
horses. Once the deal was set, the Senate was called back to vote
on June 20 and the Assembly on June 21.
In the meanwhile, the final language was modified to track existing
federal law as much as possible, largely at the insistence of
Senate Codes Chairman Dale Volker (R-Depew). Volker’s committee
was bypassed as much as possible because of his and committee
members’ objections to the whole package.
The Senate’s special session vote of 39-20 was the key, with
all the GOP senators in the New York City area and Long Island
voting for it. The only upstate Republican to vote for the bill
was Bruno, who had to do it or give up his leadership post. The
votes against it came entirely from upstate, including Sen. Mary
Lou Rath (R-Amherst), who had been added as a sponsor of the original
bill, and Democrats like Sen. Bill Stachowski of Lackawanna.
Linked to the guncontrol measure were other major criminal justice
reforms, including the first significant changes in three decades
to the state’s sexual assault laws. Those changes will strengthen
penalties aimed at sexual predators, especially date rapists and
child abusers.
In addition, a school violence measure, in the making since last
year’s Columbine High School shootings in Colorado, will
make it a felony for students to assault teachers and fellow students,
while also requiring new teachers and other school workers to
be fingerprinted for criminal background checks.
Schools will also not be permitted to let workers who abuse children
to “silently” resign; officials will now face criminal
charges for not reporting incidents of child abuse.
The agreements came after a frenzied day of closed-door deal-making
on a host of politically popular measures that both legislative
houses were lobbying for, to give their members something to promote
as they hit the re-election campaign trail this fall.
Earlier, critics had accused Pataki of merely trying to restore
his national image after having just tried to keep a GOP presidential
candidate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), off the state’s primary
ballot. Others said Pataki’s plan was designed to give him
national status, possibly even as a GOP vice presidential choice.
In the end, Pataki got no such benefits from his anti-gun scheme,
and many believe he may have wounded the entire GOP ticket.
Gun Locks
The final bill requires that firearms dealers include gun
locks with all sales of handguns, rifles and shotguns, and that
stores be posted with a warning sign that must also be attached
to or included in the container for each gun. The message reads:
“The use of a locking device or safety lock is only one aspect
of responsible firearm storage. For increased safety firearms
should be stored unloaded and locked in a location that is both
separate from their ammunition and inaccessible to children and
any other unauthorized person.”
The measure also defines gun shows and requires that at least
one dealer authorized to conduct NICS checks conduct such background
checks for every sales or transfer at the gun show. Show locations
must also be posted with background check warnings.
The package mirrors federal law by banning the sale and possession
of so-called assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition-feeding
devices manufactured after Sept. 13, 1994. And, like the federal
law, possession, use for all legal purposes, sale and/or transfer
of the same guns and ammunition feeding devices manufactured before
the cut-off date are still legal.
Pistol Licenses
The measure also raises the age at which an individual
can apply for and obtain a license to possess and carry a handgun
from 18 to 21 years. (Federal law already prohibits handgun purchases
by persons under the age of 21.) However, the new state law provides
exceptions for veterans of US military, Coast Guard or state National
Guard Service.
It also provides an exception for training and organized competition
by amending the penal law to provide for unlicensed use of handguns
at organized indoor or outdoor ranges by underage persons who
are supervised and shoot handguns licensed to individuals who
are present during the event.
Probably the plan’s most ambitious element—and one which
does not directly impact law-abiding gunowners—will require
gunmakers to test-fire all new handguns before they are sold in
New York and send the bullets and shell casings to the state police,
which would record their ballistics. This part of the law does
not take effect until March 2001; state police must promulgate
regulations by Oct. 1, 2000.
The school violence package requires districts to formulate specific
school safety plans, and gives whistle-blower protections for
school workers who report acts of violence.
New teachers would be subjected to fingerprinting for state and
national criminal background checks. Additional penalties for
assaults on teachers and students also were agreed to.
On other issues, the legislature gave final approval to a measure
proposed by Assemblyman Robin L. Schimminger (D-Kenmore) that
requires bounty hunters to be licensed and trained to operate
in New York.