Sponsorship

A.6127 - PRETLOW, LAFAYETTE, HOOPER, GOTTFRIED, GANTT, GREENE, DINOWITZ, aubry, brennan, canestrari, clark, galef, gordon d, hoyt, jacobs, john, mayersohn, pheffer, seminerio, weinstein, weisenberg, wright / - -1

Memorandum in Support

BILL NUMBER: A6127

TITLE OF BILL : An act to amend the general business law, in relation to the sale of ammunition

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL : The purpose of this bill is to restrict access to handgun ammunition by requiring handgun owners to present their permits at the time of purchase. SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS : -Defines "ammunition" -Prohibits the sale of ammunition except to those who present a valid firearm license at the time of purchase. -A penalty of no less than five hundred dollars but no more than one thousand dollars shall be imposed for each violation. JUSTIFICATION : In the United States, especially New York State, there has been an increase in the number of handgun related crimes. Currently, there are no restrictions on the sale of ammunition. Even young children are allowed to purchase ammunition because there are no laws to prevent the sale to minors. This legislation will seek to restrict the availability of handgun ammunition to those who DO NOT have the legal authority to possess a handgun. FISCAL IMPLICATIONS : None. EFFECTIVE DATE : This act shall take effect November l, 1999.

Sponsorship

A.7477 - KOON

Memorandum in Support

BILL NUMBER: A7477

TITLE OF BILL : An act to amend the general business law, in relation to adding rifles and shotguns to the ballistics identification databank

PURPOSE :

This bill would expand the ballistic identification database to include rifles and shotguns delivered by gunsmiths or licensed dealers to any person in this state.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Sections 1 and 2 amend General Business Law S396-ff(1) to define the terms "rifle" and "shotgun" and include these terms within the definitions of "shell casing" and "manufacturers."

Section 3 amends General Business Law S396-ff(2) to require manufacturers to include a separate sealed container containing a shell casing of a bullet or projectile discharged from a rifle or shotgun which is delivered to any person in this state on or after March 1, 2006.

Section 4 amends General Business Law S396-ff(3) to require gunsmiths and licensed dealers to notify the Division of State Police (State Police) whenever a manufacturer fails to include a separate sealed container containing a shell casing of a bullet or projectile discharged from a rifle or shotgun delivered to such gunsmith or licensed dealer. In cases where the manufacturer fails to include such sealed container, the gunsmith or licensed dealer is required to obtain a substitute sealed container through participation in a program operated by the State Police.

Section 5 amends General Business Law S396-ff(4) to require the State Police to promulgate regulations for a ballistics identification program for rifles and shotguns no later than October 1, 2005, and requires that such program be operational by January 1, 2006.

Section 6 amends General Business Law S396-ff(5) to require gunsmiths and licensed dealers, prior to delivery of a rifle or shotgun to any person in this state, to forward to the State Police a sealed container containing the discharged shell casings from such rifle or shotgun.

Section 7 amends General Business Law S396-ff(6) to require the State Police to enter relevant ballistic information from the shell casings of discharged projectiles or bullets of rifles and shotguns in the ballistic identification database.

This bill takes effect immediately.

JUSTIFICATION :

The recent Washington D.C. sniper shootings demonstrate the terror that can be spread by sniper attacks, and the need for effective police investigative work to solve cases quickly and prevent further tragedies. In that case, the Maryland police used ballistics identification techniques to match bullet fragments from each victim to determine that only one gun was used in the attacks. Although some shell casings were recovered, neither Maryland nor Virginia had a ballistics identification database which could be used to match those casings to the sniper`s weapon, which might have led them to the sniper earlier.

In 2000, the New York State Legislature passed legislation creating a ballistics identification database for pistols and revolvers delivered by licensed dealers or gunsmiths to any person in this state (L. 2000, c. 189). The legislation required licensed dealers and gunsmiths, prior to the delivery of a revolver or pistol, to forward to the State Police the shell casing of a projectile or bullet discharged from such pistol or revolver so that the ballistic image of such shell casing could be entered in the ballistics identification database. Unfortunately, the 2000 legislation did not require the inclusion of rifles and shotguns in the ballistic identification database.

Ballistics identification is a powerful law enforcement tool. Once the ballistic image of a discharged shell casing is entered in the ballistics identification database, ballistics evidence recovered from crime scenes can be matched by law enforcement to identify the specific make and model of a pistol or revolver used in a crime and to trace the pistol or revolver in order to identify the perpetrator of the crime. Ballistic imaging and comparison of crime gun evidence has been successfully used by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) through its National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which deploys Integrated Ballistic Identification System (IBIS) equipment into State and local law enforcement agencies.

Recent state and federal crime gun statistics demonstrate the need to include rifles and shotguns in the New York ballistics identification database. According to State Police data, for the period from November 1, 2000 to November 30, 2002, nearly 36% of the illegal guns seized by law enforcement (exclusive of New York City) were rifles and shotguns. Federal crime gun data indicates that in 2000 nearly 45% of the crime guns recovered in Buffalo were rifles or shotguns. During the same period, 16% of the crime guns recovered in New York City were rifles or shotguns.

Accordingly, this bill corrects the oversight in the 2000 law by adding rifles and shotguns to the ballistics identification database. Ballistic fingerprinting of rifles and shotguns will not only provide law enforcement with a valuable tool in investigating gun crimes involving rifles or shotguns, but will also provide useful information in developing enforcement strategies to prevent the future commission of such crime.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2003-04: A8732 2005-06: A7595

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

There may be a minor fiscal impact.

EFFECTIVE DATE : This bill takes effect immediately.