NY State Senate Bill 2025-S4388

Senate Bill S4388

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Establishes a private right of action against gun industry members for marketing firearms and firearm related products to minors

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 04, 2025	referred to codes

2025-S4388 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1764
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§898-a & 898-b, Gen Bus L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S8125, A5834

2025-S4388 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits gun industry members from marketing firearms and firearm related products to minors; excepts instances where marketing is geared toward hunting purposes; establishes a private right of action for violations.

2025-S4388 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4388

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to establishing a
private right of action against gun industry members for marketing
firearms and firearm related products to minors

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation will enable consumers to hold the firearm industry
accountable for marketing firearms and firearm-related products to chil-
dren.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one amends subdivision two of section 898-a of the general busi-
ness law by adding four new subdivisions 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Section two amends section 898-b of the general business law by adding a
new subdivision 3. Section three contains a severability clause.

Section four establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the
United States. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, 19,000 children
and teens are shot and killed or wounded from gun violence, and approxi-
mately 3 million children are exposed to gun violence every year.

Following the 2022 massacre in Uvalde, Texas, there has been growing
concern over the advertising tactics used by gun manufacturers and their
impact on children and young adults. The manufacturer of the firearm
used in the Uvalde shooting was heavily criticized for creating adver-
tisements and social media posts of a child holding an AR-style rifle.
Other manufacturers have also targeted children in advertising
campaigns, such as Weed Tactical's "get em one like yours" advertisement
for a scaled-down AR-15 (called JR-15) that "operates just like Mom and
Dad's gun," as well as Smith & Wesson's advertisements that resemble
popular first-person shooter games like "Call of Duty." The Biden Admin-
istration recently directed the Federal Trade Commission to issue a
public report analyzing how gun manufacturers market firearms to minors.
It is critical that New York State do everything possible to address the
gun industry's reckless marketing campaigns toward children.

For decades, the gun industry has been shielded from lawsuits by victims
of gun violence, enabling them to escape any liability for this crisis.
In 2021, New York State passed legislation allowing civil lawsuits to be
brought against firearm manufacturers and dealers for reckless marketing
tactics and their subsequent consequences. Similar to the 2021 law, this
legislation would prohibit the design or marketing of firearms to
minors, allowing civil lawsuits for violations.

This legislation would prohibit the design or marketing of firearms to
minors and include such behavior under the 2021 law allowing civil
lawsuits for certain behaviors.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-2024: 5.8125 (May) / A.5834-A (L. Rosenthal)

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Undetermined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2025-S4388 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4388
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 4, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to establishing  a
   private  right  of  action  against gun industry members for marketing
   firearms and firearm related products to minors

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 898-a of the general business law,
 as  amended  by chapter 429 of the laws of 2024, is amended and four new
 subdivisions 7, 8, 9 and 10 are added to read as follows:
   2. "Reasonable controls  and  procedures"  shall  mean  policies  that
 include,  but  are  not limited to: (a) instituting screening, security,
 inventory and other business practices to prevent  thefts  of  qualified
 products  as  well  as  sales of qualified products to straw purchasers,
 traffickers, persons prohibited from possessing firearms under state  or
 federal  law,  or  persons at risk of injuring themselves or others; (b)
 preventing deceptive acts and practices and false advertising and other-
 wise ensuring compliance with all provisions of article twenty-two-A  of
 this chapter; [and] (c) taking reasonable steps to prevent the installa-
 tion  and use of a pistol converter, as defined in section 265.00 of the
 penal law, on qualified products; AND (D) PREVENTING  THE  MARKETING  OF
 FIREARMS  AND  FIREARM  RELATED PRODUCTS TO INDIVIDUALS UNDER THE AGE OF
 EIGHTEEN.
   7. "FIREARM ACCESSORY" SHALL MEAN AN ATTACHMENT OR DEVICE DESIGNED  OR
 ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED INTO, AFFIXED ONTO, OR USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH A
 FIREARM THAT IS DESIGNED, INTENDED, OR FUNCTIONS TO ALTER OR ENHANCE THE
 FIRING  CAPABILITIES  OF  A  FIREARM, THE LETHALITY OF THE FIREARM, OR A
 SHOOTER'S ABILITY TO HOLD AND USE A FIREARM, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER  SUCH
 ACCESSORY HAS BEEN SHIPPED OR TRANSPORTED IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04697-01-5
 S. 4388                             2

   8.  "FIREARM  PRECURSOR PART" SHALL MEAN A COMPONENT OF A FIREARM THAT
 IS NECESSARY TO BUILD OR ASSEMBLE A FIREARM AND IS DESCRIBED IN  ANY  OF
 THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
   (A)  AN  UNFINISHED  RECEIVER  AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION THIRTY-TWO OF
 SECTION 265.00 OF THE PENAL LAW.
   (B) AN UNFINISHED HANDGUN FRAME AS DEFINED IN  SUBDIVISION  THIRTY-TWO
 OF SECTION 265.00 OF THE PENAL LAW.
   (C)  A  "MAJOR COMPONENT OF A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN" AS DEFINED IN
 SUBDIVISION THREE-A OF SECTION 265.00 OF THE PENAL LAW.
   9. "FIREARM RELATED PRODUCT"  SHALL  MEAN  A  FIREARM,  AMMUNITION,  A
 FIREARM  PRECURSOR  PART,  A  FIREARM COMPONENT, AND A FIREARM ACCESSORY
 THAT MEETS ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS:
   (A) THE ITEM IS SOLD, MANUFACTURED, OR DISTRIBUTED IN NEW YORK STATE.
   (B) THE ITEM IS INTENDED TO BE SOLD OR DISTRIBUTED IN NEW YORK STATE.
   (C) THE ITEM IS OR WAS POSSESSED IN NEW YORK STATE AND IT WAS  REASON-
 ABLY FORESEEABLE THAT SUCH ITEM WOULD BE POSSESSED IN NEW YORK STATE.
   10.  "FIREARM"  SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN
 SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION 265.00  OF  THE  PENAL  LAW,  AND  FOR  THE
 PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE, SHALL INCLUDE A "RIFLE" AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
 SION  ELEVEN  AND  A  "SHOTGUN" AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION TWELVE OF SUCH
 SECTION OF THE PENAL LAW.
   § 2. Section 898-b of the general business law is amended by adding  a
 new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
   3.  IT  SHALL  BE  UNLAWFUL  FOR  ANY GUN INDUSTRY MEMBER TO DESIGN OR
 MARKET ANY FIREARM OR FIREARM RELATED  PRODUCT  AS  DEFINED  IN  SECTION
 EIGHT HUNDRED NINETY-EIGHT-A OF THIS ARTICLE TO ANY INDIVIDUAL UNDER THE
 AGE OF EIGHTEEN, UNLESS SUCH FIREARM OR FIREARM RELATED PRODUCT IS BEING
 DESIGNED  OR  MARKETED  TO INDIVIDUALS UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN FOR THE
 PURPOSES OF HUNTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE ELEVEN  OF  THE  ENVIRON-
 MENTAL CONSERVATION LAW.
   § 3. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part
 of  this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to
 be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,  impair  or  invalidate  the
 remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
 sentence,  paragraph,  section  or part thereof directly involved in the
 controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,  amend-
 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
 tation  of  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
 completed on or before such effective date.

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