STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1413
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 14, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation  to  requiring  social  media
          reviews  prior to the approval of an application of a license to carry
          or possess a pistol or revolver;  and  to  amend  the  penal  law,  in
          relation  to requiring social media reviews prior to the delivery of a
          rifle or shotgun
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 and subdivision 4 of section
     2  400.00  of  the  penal law, as amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013,
     3  are amended to read as follows:
     4    (a) Applications shall be made and renewed, in the case of  a  license
     5  to  carry  or  possess a pistol or revolver, to the licensing officer in
     6  the city or county, as the case may be, where the applicant resides,  is
     7  principally  employed  or  has his or her principal place of business as
     8  merchant or storekeeper; and, in the case of a license  as  gunsmith  or
     9  dealer  in  firearms, to the licensing officer where such place of busi-
    10  ness is located. Blank applications shall, except in  the  city  of  New
    11  York,  be  approved as to form by the superintendent of state police. An
    12  application shall state the full name, date of birth, residence, present
    13  occupation of each person or individual signing the same, whether or not
    14  he or she is a citizen of the United States, whether or not  he  or  she
    15  complies  with each requirement for eligibility specified in subdivision
    16  one of this section, consent to have his or her  social  media  accounts
    17  reviewed  and investigated pursuant to subdivision four of this section,
    18  and such other facts as may be required  to  show  the  good  character,
    19  competency and integrity of each person or individual signing the appli-
    20  cation.    The  social  media  account consent required pursuant to this
    21  subdivision shall include two check boxes as  part  of  the  application
    22  with the following typed in clear and conspicuous type:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06589-01-9

        S. 1413                             2
     1    "I consent to making my social media page public for a period of sixty
     2  days."; and
     3    "I certify that no content on my social media page has been altered or
     4  removed  sixty  days prior to my application date and such content shall
     5  not be altered or removed until the investigation  required  to  approve
     6  this application has been completed."
     7    Failure to check such box shall result in denial of an application. An
     8  application  shall be signed and verified by the applicant.  Such appli-
     9  cation shall inform the applicant that he or she signs such  application
    10  under  the  penalties of perjury. Each individual signing an application
    11  shall submit one photograph of himself or herself and  a  duplicate  for
    12  each  required copy of the application. Such photographs shall have been
    13  taken within thirty days prior to filing the application. In case  of  a
    14  license  as  gunsmith  or  dealer in firearms, the photographs submitted
    15  shall be two inches square, and the application  shall  also  state  the
    16  previous occupation of each individual signing the same and the location
    17  of  the  place  of  such  business, or of the bureau, agency, subagency,
    18  office or branch office for which the license is sought, specifying  the
    19  name  of the city, town or village, indicating the street and number and
    20  otherwise giving such apt description as to  point  out  reasonably  the
    21  location  thereof. In such case, if the applicant is a firm, partnership
    22  or corporation, its name, date and place  of  formation,  and  principal
    23  place  of  business  shall  be stated. For such firm or partnership, the
    24  application shall be signed and verified by each individual composing or
    25  intending to compose the same, and for such corporation, by each officer
    26  thereof.
    27    4. Investigation. Before a license is issued or renewed,  there  shall
    28  be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the
    29  duly  constituted police authorities of the locality where such applica-
    30  tion is made, including but not limited to such records as may be acces-
    31  sible to the division of state police or division  of  criminal  justice
    32  services  pursuant  to section 400.02 of this article. For that purpose,
    33  the records of the  appropriate  office  of  the  department  of  mental
    34  hygiene  concerning  previous or present mental illness of the applicant
    35  shall be available for inspection by the investigating  officer  of  the
    36  police  authority.  In  order to ascertain any previous criminal record,
    37  the investigating officer  shall  take  the  fingerprints  and  physical
    38  descriptive  data in quadruplicate of each individual by whom the appli-
    39  cation is signed and verified. Two copies of such fingerprints shall  be
    40  taken  on  standard  fingerprint cards eight inches square, and one copy
    41  may be taken on a card supplied for that purpose by the  federal  bureau
    42  of  investigation;  provided,  however,  that in the case of a corporate
    43  applicant that has already been issued a dealer in firearms license  and
    44  seeks  to  operate  a  firearm  dealership  at  a  second  or subsequent
    45  location, the original fingerprints on file may be used to ascertain any
    46  criminal record in the second or subsequent application  unless  any  of
    47  the  corporate  officers  have  changed  since the prior application, in
    48  which case the  new  corporate  officer  shall  comply  with  procedures
    49  governing  an  initial application for such license. When completed, one
    50  standard card shall be forwarded to and  retained  by  the  division  of
    51  criminal  justice  services  in  the  executive department, at Albany. A
    52  search of the files of such division and  written  notification  of  the
    53  results of the search to the investigating officer shall be made without
    54  unnecessary  delay. Thereafter, such division shall notify the licensing
    55  officer and the executive department, division of state police,  Albany,
    56  of  any criminal record of the applicant filed therein subsequent to the

        S. 1413                             3
     1  search of its files. A second standard card, or the one supplied by  the
     2  federal  bureau of investigation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded
     3  to that bureau at Washington with a request that the files of the bureau
     4  be searched and notification of the results of the search be made to the
     5  investigating  police authority. Of the remaining two fingerprint cards,
     6  one shall be filed with the  executive  department,  division  of  state
     7  police,  Albany,  within ten days after issuance of the license, and the
     8  other remain on file with the investigating police  authority.  No  such
     9  fingerprints  may be inspected by any person other than a peace officer,
    10  who is acting pursuant to his  special  duties,  or  a  police  officer,
    11  except  on  order of a judge or justice of a court of record either upon
    12  notice to the licensee or without notice, as the judge  or  justice  may
    13  deem  appropriate.    In  order  to  ascertain  whether any social media
    14  account of an applicant presents any good cause  for  the  denial  of  a
    15  license,  the  investigating  officer  shall, after obtaining the appli-
    16  cant's consent pursuant to subdivision three of this section, review  an
    17  applicant's  social  media  accounts  for  the  previous three years and
    18  investigate an applicant's posts related to (i) excessive discriminatory
    19  content; or (ii) content that is likely to incite or produce  a  violent
    20  action  in  or  towards  others.  For  the purposes of this subdivision,
    21  "social media accounts" shall only include Facebook, Youtube, Gab, Twit-
    22  ter and Instagram and "excessive"  shall  mean  more  than  one  hundred
    23  posts.  Upon completion of the investigation, the police authority shall
    24  report the results to the licensing officer without unnecessary delay.
    25    § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 400.20  to  read
    26  as follows:
    27  § 400.20 Social media account review prior to the delivery of a rifle or
    28             shotgun.
    29    1.  Prior  to  the delivery of any rifle or shotgun sold by a licensed
    30  dealer to any person, the purchaser shall consent to  have  his  or  her
    31  social  media accounts reviewed and investigated by the police authority
    32  of the locality where such sale is  made.    A  form  providing  consent
    33  pursuant  to  this  subdivision  shall  include two check boxes with the
    34  following typed in clear and conspicuous type:
    35    "I consent to making my social media page public for a period of sixty
    36  days."; and
    37    "I certify that no content on my social media page has been altered or
    38  removed sixty days prior to my application date and such  content  shall
    39  not  be  altered  or removed until the investigation required to approve
    40  this application has been completed."
    41    Failure to check such box shall result in denial  of  an  application.
    42  Such form shall be signed and verified by the purchaser and shall inform
    43  the  purchaser  that  he  or  she signs such form under the penalties of
    44  perjury.  After completion of the review pursuant to subdivision two  of
    45  this section, the purchaser shall provide the licensed dealer with proof
    46  of his or her approval to purchase such rifle or shotgun.
    47    2.  In  order  to  ascertain  whether  any  social  media account of a
    48  purchaser of a rifle or shotgun presents any good cause for  the  denial
    49  of  such  purchase, the police authority of the locality where such sale
    50  is made shall, after  obtaining  the  purchaser's  consent  pursuant  to
    51  subdivision  one  of  this  section  review  a  purchaser's social media
    52  accounts for the previous three years and investigate posts  related  to
    53  (i)  excessive discriminatory content; or (ii) content that is likely to
    54  incite or produce a violent action  in  or  towards  others.    For  the
    55  purposes  of  this  section,  "social media accounts" shall only include
    56  Facebook, Youtube, Gab, Twitter and Instagram and "excessive" shall mean

        S. 1413                             4
     1  more than one hundred posts.  Upon completion of the investigation,  the
     2  police  authority  shall  report  the  results  to the purchaser without
     3  unnecessary delay and, if appropriate, provide the purchaser with  proof
     4  of approval to purchase such rifle or shotgun.
     5    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
     6  have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amendment  and/or
     7  repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
     8  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  and  completed
     9  on or before such effective date.