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Tougher Gun Law in New York
Jan 15th 2013, 19:14

Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol addressed legislators' questions on Tuesday about a gun-control bill he was sponsoring.

ALBANY — The State Assembly, which opened its legislative session this year with a moment of silence for the victims of the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., on Tuesday approved a package of gun measures that would significantly expand the state's ban on assault weapons.

Passage by the Assembly, on a 104-to-43 vote, came after nearly five hours of debate. The Senate approved the legislation on Monday night.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat who had loudly and repeatedly demanded that the Legislature enact new restrictions on guns in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, said he would sign the legislation into law this afternoon. When that happens, New York will become the first state to enact a major gun law in response to the Newtown shootings, and Mr. Cuomo has said several provisions of the legislation will make the state's law the toughest in the nation.

"We believe that it's up to us to lead the way," said Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol, a Brooklyn Democrat and sponsor of the bill. "I for one don't want to wait for a tragedy like Newtown before we take some action to prevent it."

During the Assembly debate, legislators peppered Mr. Lentol with technical questions about its provisions, and a number of Republicans criticized both its content and the lack of public hearings or other public process for considering the proposals.

One Republican assemblyman, Marc W. Butler, whose Mohawk Valley district includes workers at the Remington Arms plant in Ilion, said the measure "tramples on the constitutional rights of our constituents." Another, David DiPietro, who represents a rural district in western New York, said his office had received 430 e-mails and text messages from constituents opposed to new gun restrictions — and none in support.

And Assemblyman Steven Katz, a Hudson Valley Republican, said Mr. Cuomo should not have pressured lawmakers to act so quickly. Tuesday was only the second day of the 2013 legislative session.

"Why are we being bullied into voting on this bill without our proper, responsible due diligence?" Mr. Katz asked. "Solely due to the governor's misguided, egotistic notion that this will advance his presidential aspirations."

The National Rifle Association issued a statement denouncing the measure, which it called an "all-out assault on the Second Amendment and the law-abiding citizens in New York."

But Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a vocal advocate of gun control, hailed the legislation, saying, "this protects the Second Amendment rights of people, and at the same time it makes all New Yorkers safer."

"We have some of the toughest gun laws in the country, and this just strengthens them," Mr. Bloomberg told reporters in New York. "It fills in loopholes, and it expands it, as the society's needs have changed, and the dangers have changed to all of us."

The expanded ban on assault weapons would broaden the definition of such weapons, banning semiautomatic pistols and rifles with detachable magazines and one military-style feature, as well as semiautomatic shotguns with one military-style feature. New Yorkers who already own such guns could keep them but would be required to register them with the state.

"It's taken far too many deaths to get us to this point," said Assemblyman Thomas J. Abinanti, a Westchester County Democrat. "The Second Amendment does not guarantee the right to bear arms to kill innocent firefighters, teachers and children, and that's the message we have to send."

In an acknowledgment that many people have suggested that part of the solution to gun violence is a better government response to mental illness, the legislation includes not only new restrictions on gun ownership, but also efforts to limit access to guns by mentally ill people.

The most significant new element would require mental health professionals to report to local mental health officials when they believe that patients are likely to harm themselves or others. Law enforcement officials would then be authorized to confiscate any firearm owned by a dangerous patient; therapists would not be punished for a failure to report such patients if they acted "in good faith."

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