Senator Proposes Tougher Penalty For Gun Possession

Kaplan, D-North Hills, wants to increase the penalties for convicted felons who are found in possession of a weapon, having introduced S.8782 in the state Senate. She proposes changing the charge of third- and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon to include anyone who has been convicted of a felony found in possession of a rifle, shotgun, antique firearm, black powder shotgun or any muzzle-loading firearm and to increase the severity of those charges from a class A misdemeanor to at least a class D felony, with the option for more stringent charges.

“This legislation increases that penalty to a class D felony carrying up to seven years in cases pertaining specifically to loaded long guns, rifles and firearms,” Kaplan wrote in her legislative justification. “The crime increases to a class C felony, criminal possession in the third degree, which is punishable by imprisonment up to 15 years with the option of monetary fines in cases where there is intent to use the weapon.”

A 2020 United State Sentencing Commission report showed there were 6,782 cases involving gun convictions under federal law, an increase from 5,391 in 2016. Locally, more than two dozen illegally-possessed firearms have been seized in the city by local police in roughly three months, according to a recent report in The Post-Journal. Oftentimes, the weapons are loaded and, in some cases, have been used in drive-by incidents.

Two loaded pistols were recovered after gunshots were exchanged between vehicles March 22 in the area of West Sixth and Jefferson streets. One of the vehicles believed to be involved was later located on Summit Avenue with a “bullet hole in its hood,” the Jamestown Police Department said at the time. Three men were taken into custody following the shooting, two of whom — 21-year-old Joel Coleman and 23-year-old Allen Jackson — were already facing weapons possession charges stemming from a February traffic stop.