Bill Text: NY A08454 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires firearms, rifles and shotguns to be manufactured or modified to be permanently incompatible with a rapid-fire modification device; requires manufacturers of such weapons to make such modifications to existing weapons at no cost to owners and dealers; gives owners one year to obtain compliance.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to codes [A08454 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08454-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8454

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    December 29, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. STECK, DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the penal law, the general business law and  the  execu-
          tive law, in relation to requiring firearms, rifles and shotguns to be
          manufactured  or modified to be permanently incompatible with a rapid-
          fire modification device

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 265.10 of the penal law,
     2  subdivisions  1  and 2 as separately amended by chapters 34, 130 and 146
     3  and subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 130 of the  laws  of  2019,  are
     4  amended to read as follows:
     5    1.  Any  person  who  manufactures  or  causes  to be manufactured any
     6  machine-gun, assault weapon, large capacity ammunition feeding device or
     7  disguised gun is guilty of a class D felony. Any person who manufactures
     8  or causes to be manufactured any rapid-fire modification device is guil-
     9  ty of a class E felony. Any person who  manufactures  or  causes  to  be
    10  manufactured a firearm, rifle or shotgun that is not made or modified to
    11  be  permanently  incompatible  with  a rapid-fire modification device is
    12  guilty of a class E felony. Any person who manufactures or causes to  be
    13  manufactured any switchblade knife, pilum ballistic knife, metal knuckle
    14  knife, undetectable knife, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, plastic knuckles,
    15  metal  knuckles,  Kung Fu star, chuka stick, sandbag, sandclub or slung-
    16  shot is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
    17    2. Any person who transports or ships any machine-gun, firearm silenc-
    18  er, assault weapon  or  large  capacity  ammunition  feeding  device  or
    19  disguised  gun,  or  who transports or ships as merchandise five or more
    20  firearms, is guilty of a class D felony. Any person  who  transports  or
    21  ships  any rapid-fire modification device is guilty of a class E felony.
    22  Any person who transports or ships any firearm, rifle or shotgun that is
    23  not made or modified to be permanently incompatible  with  a  rapid-fire

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13922-01-3

        A. 8454                             2

     1  modification device is guilty of a class E felony. Any person who trans-
     2  ports or ships as merchandise any firearm, other than an assault weapon,
     3  switchblade  knife,  pilum  ballistic  knife, undetectable knife, billy,
     4  blackjack,  bludgeon,  plastic  knuckles,  metal knuckles, Kung Fu star,
     5  chuka stick, sandbag or slungshot is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
     6    3. Any person who disposes of any machine-gun, assault  weapon,  large
     7  capacity  ammunition  feeding  device or firearm silencer is guilty of a
     8  class D felony. Any person who disposes of any  rapid-fire  modification
     9  device  is  guilty  of a class E felony.  Any person who disposes of any
    10  firearm, rifle or shotgun that is not made or modified to be permanently
    11  incompatible with a rapid-fire modification device is guilty of a  class
    12  E  felony.  Any  person  who  knowingly  buys, receives, disposes of, or
    13  conceals a  machine-gun,  firearm,  large  capacity  ammunition  feeding
    14  device,  rifle  or  shotgun  which  has  been defaced for the purpose of
    15  concealment or prevention of the detection of a crime or misrepresenting
    16  the identity of such machine-gun,  firearm,  large  capacity  ammunition
    17  feeding device, rifle or shotgun is guilty of a class D felony.
    18    § 2. Section 265.01-c of the penal law, as added by chapter 130 of the
    19  laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
    20  § 265.01-c Criminal possession of a rapid-fire modification device.
    21    A person is guilty of criminal possession of a rapid-fire modification
    22  device  when  he or she knowingly possesses any (1) rapid-fire modifica-
    23  tion device; or (2) firearm, rifle or shotgun that is not made or  modi-
    24  fied  to  be  permanently  incompatible  with  a rapid-fire modification
    25  device.
    26    Criminal possession of a rapid-fire modification device is a  class  A
    27  misdemeanor.
    28    §  3.  Subdivision  26 of section 265.00 of the penal law, as added by
    29  chapter 130 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
    30    26. "Rapid-fire modification device" means  any  bump  stock,  trigger
    31  crank,  binary trigger system, burst trigger system, or any other device
    32  that is designed (a) to accelerate the rate of fire of a  semi-automatic
    33  firearm, rifle or shotgun; or (b) for use in converting a firearm, rifle
    34  or  shotgun  to  shoot  automatically more than one shot, without manual
    35  reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
    36    § 4. The general business law is amended by adding a new section  369-
    37  fff to read as follow:
    38    §  396-fff. Recall of certain weapons; rapid-fire modification. 1. Any
    39  manufacturer of firearms, rifles, and/or shotguns shall modify, or cause
    40  to be modified, any firearm, rifle or shotgun manufactured  and/or  sold
    41  prior to the effective date of this section, to be permanently incompat-
    42  ible  with  a  rapid-fire  modification  device, at no cost to the owner
    43  and/or dealer of such firearm, rifle or shotgun. Such manufacturer shall
    44  return, or cause to be returned, such firearm, rifle or shotgun  to  the
    45  legal  owner  and/or dealer within thirty days of the completion of such
    46  modification pursuant to this subdivision.
    47    2. Manufacturers of firearms, rifles and/or shotguns shall make  every
    48  reasonable  effort  to  notify  owners  and  dealers of firearms, rifles
    49  and/or shotguns in this state of a mandatory recall  of  such  firearms,
    50  rifles  and  shotguns  to  a  New  York state dealer of firearms, rifles
    51  and/or shotguns to make the modifications required pursuant to  subdivi-
    52  sion one of this section.
    53    3.  "Rapid-fire  modification  device"  means  any bump stock, trigger
    54  crank, binary trigger system, burst trigger system, or any other  device
    55  that  is designed (a) to accelerate the rate of fire of a semi-automatic
    56  firearm, rifle or shotgun; or (b) for use in converting a firearm, rifle

        A. 8454                             3

     1  or shotgun to shoot automatically more than  one  shot,  without  manual
     2  reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
     3    §  5. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 236 to read
     4  as follows:
     5    § 236. Public awareness; rapid-fire modification devices. Within nine-
     6  ty days following the effective date of this section, the superintendent
     7  shall establish and maintain a public awareness campaign to educate  the
     8  public  regarding rapid-fire modification devices as defined in subdivi-
     9  sion twenty-six of section 265.00 of the penal law. Such campaign shall,
    10  at a minimum, include information to assist the  public  in  recognizing
    11  the  relevant  features  of  such modification devices, the dangers such
    12  modification devices present to the public, the current  laws  regarding
    13  such modification devices and any additional information the superinten-
    14  dent  deems  important.  Such information shall be made available on the
    15  New York state police website.
    16    § 6. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
    17  ing the date upon which it shall have become a  law;  provided,  however
    18  that  sections one, two and three of this act shall take effect one year
    19  after such date.
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