New Yorkers under the age of 21 will not be able to buy semi-automatic rifles under a new law Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law Monday, making the state one of the first to enact a major gun control initiative following a spate of mass shootings. in the country.
Democrat Hochul signed 10 gun-related bills, including one requiring a ballistic identification stamp on new guns, which could help authorities solve gun-related crimes.
Another initiative adjusted the state’s “red flag” law, which allows courts to temporarily seize guns from people who may pose a threat to themselves or others.
“In New York we took concrete and aggressive measures. We are tightening the round flag laws in order to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people,” Hochul said at a news conference in the Bronx.
Initiatives signed include one that will restrict the sale of bulletproof vests to civilians.
The New York legislature approved the bills last week, pushing the changes after a pair of mass shootings by 18-year-old assailants armed with semi-automatic rifles. Ten black people were killed in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket on May 14. Ten days later, 19 children and two teachers were killed in a Texas school.
The governor assured that New York will continue to invest in the prevention of crimes with firearms through a partnership with local communities and will continue to strengthen the laws by increasing pressure on Congress.
“Today is the beginning, and it is not the end,” Hochul said. “Thoughts and prayers won’t fix this, taking solid action will. We will do it in the name of the lives that have been lost and for the parents who will no longer be able to see their children get off the school bus.”
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