BILL NUMBER:S2612A

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to repeal section 265.37 and paragraph 7-f of
subdivision a of section 265.20 of the penal law, relating to unlawful
possession of certain ammunition feeding devices and the exemption of
certain ammunition feeding devices at firing ranges

PURPOSE: To repeal the provision of the SAFE Act that limits the
number of legally permissible cartridges in a semi-automatic firearm's
magazine to seven, so that state law conforms to a federal court
ruling.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 repeals a section of the SAFE Act
which limits the number of legally permissible cartridges in a ten
round magazine to seven, thus conforming state law to a federal
court's decision finding this provision an unwarranted burden on the
exercise of one's Second Amendment rights. Section 2 repeals the
exemptions authorized for use of ten round magazines at specific
locations or events. Section 3 provides for the effective date,

EXISTING LAW: Current law inexplicably limits the number of legally
permissible cartridges in a ten round firearm magazine to seven,
except at a shooting range or sanctioned firearm match. It imposes
harsh penalties for violations of the law, including fines and
imprisonment.

              

JUSTIFICATION: This section of Governor Cuomo's SAFE Act poses an
untenable and undemonstrated theory that public safety is enhanced
when lawful gun owners are denied by law from loading more than seven
cartridges in firearm magazines manufactured for ten; and that
criminals will observe the law and limit the discharge of their
weapons in firearm-related crimes to the legal cap of seven in each of
their magazines Because no firearm manufacturer or company producing
"after market" gun parts makes replacement magazines that hold only
seven cartridges for the most widely used long guns and handguns, and
because ten rounds may be loaded in a magazine in certain other
locations, the law invites violations due to oversight, travel between
a range and home, or miscounting; and further imposes harsh penalties
when a gun owner has more than seven cartridges in a magazine in a
government decreed forbidden location. In addition, the law is vague
in that a police officer might presume that a firearm with one
cartridge in its chamber and seven in its magazine would have
impermissibly had a total of eight (8) cartridges in the firearm in
the first instance before the owner pulled the slide to place one
cartridge in the chamber and thereby cocked the gun. Government has no
special insight into how many cartridges a homeowner may need to
protect his or her dwelling or family, and the provision impermissibly
infringes on the rights of gun owners to secure their homes and
persons.

In addition, the law allows more than seven cartridges in a magazine
at a shooting range, but not in the house of the gun owner, where he
or she is more likely to rely on a firearm for personal protection or
defense against a home invasion. This dichotomy defies logic and is
ludicrous in the extreme.


Last, and to the point, this provision of the governor's signature gun
control law was struck down by federal district court Judge William
Skretny on December 31, 2013 (New York State Rifle and Pistol
Association, et al v Andrew M Cuomo), when he ruled that the provision
was arbitrary and could not survive intermediate scrutiny.  Although
that decision is being appealed, it is unlikely to be overturned and
the legislature should simply acknowledge the obvious and repeal the
arbitrary limit.

This bill simply conforms state law to the federal decision.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None to the state

EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediate