STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7771

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 21, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. JACKSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the penal law and the environmental conservation law, in
          relation  to  establishing  additional  requirements  to  purchase   a
          firearm, shotgun or rifle

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 and subdivision 4-b of section 400.00 of  the
     2  penal  law,  subdivision  1 as amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013,
     3  paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 60 of the  laws  of
     4  2018,  and  subdivision 4-b as added by chapter 446 of the laws of 1997,
     5  are amended to read as follows:
     6    1. Eligibility. No license shall be issued or renewed pursuant to this
     7  section except by the licensing officer, and then  only  after  investi-
     8  gation  and  finding  that  all statements in a proper application for a
     9  license are true. No license shall be issued or renewed  except  for  an
    10  applicant  (a) twenty-one years of age or older, provided, however, that
    11  where such applicant has  been  honorably  discharged  from  the  United
    12  States  army,  navy,  marine  corps,  air  force  or coast guard, or the
    13  national guard of the state of New York, no such age  restriction  shall
    14  apply;  (b)  of  good  moral  character;  (c) who has not been convicted
    15  anywhere of a felony or a serious offense or who is not the  subject  of
    16  an outstanding warrant of arrest issued upon the alleged commission of a
    17  felony  or  serious offense; (d) who is not a fugitive from justice; (e)
    18  who is not an unlawful user of or addicted to any  controlled  substance
    19  as  defined in section 21 U.S.C. 802 and has provided notarized proof of
    20  a passed drug test by a licensed physician; (f) who being an  alien  (i)
    21  is not illegally or unlawfully in the United States or (ii) has not been
    22  admitted  to  the United States under a nonimmigrant visa subject to the
    23  exception in 18 U.S.C. 922(y)(2); (g) who has not been  discharged  from
    24  the  Armed  Forces under dishonorable conditions; (h) who, having been a

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07260-01-1

        A. 7771                             2

     1  citizen of the United States, has not renounced his or her  citizenship;
     2  (i)  who  has  stated  whether  he  or  she has ever suffered any mental
     3  illness and has provided notarized proof of a passed mental health eval-
     4  uation  by  a  licensed  physician;  (j)  who has not been involuntarily
     5  committed to a facility under the  jurisdiction  of  an  office  of  the
     6  department  of mental hygiene pursuant to article nine or fifteen of the
     7  mental hygiene law, article seven hundred thirty or  section  330.20  of
     8  the  criminal  procedure  law,  section four hundred two or five hundred
     9  eight of the correction law, section 322.2 or 353.4 of the family  court
    10  act,  or  has  not  been civilly confined in a secure treatment facility
    11  pursuant to article ten of the mental hygiene law; (k) who has not had a
    12  license revoked or who is not under a suspension or ineligibility  order
    13  issued  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of section 530.14 of the criminal
    14  procedure law or section eight hundred forty-two-a of the  family  court
    15  act;  (l) [in the county of Westchester,] who has successfully completed
    16  a five hour firearms safety course and test as evidenced  by  a  certif-
    17  icate  of completion issued in his or her name and endorsed and affirmed
    18  under the penalties of perjury by a duly authorized  instructor,  except
    19  that[:  (i)] persons who are honorably discharged from the United States
    20  army, navy, marine corps or coast guard, or of the national guard of the
    21  state of New York, and produce evidence  of  official  qualification  in
    22  firearms  during  the term of service are not required to have completed
    23  those hours of a firearms safety course  pertaining  to  the  safe  use,
    24  carrying,  possession,  maintenance  and storage of a firearm[; and (ii)
    25  persons who were licensed to possess a pistol or revolver prior  to  the
    26  effective  date  of  this paragraph are not required to have completed a
    27  firearms safety course and  test];  (m)  who  has  not  had  a  guardian
    28  appointed  for  him or her pursuant to any provision of state law, based
    29  on a determination that as a result of  marked  subnormal  intelligence,
    30  mental  illness,  incapacity,  condition or disease, he or she lacks the
    31  mental capacity to contract or or manage his or her own affairs; (n) who
    32  has successfully completed live firing instruction and a  test  with  at
    33  least  ninety  percent  accuracy  at  a shooting range using the type of
    34  firearm he or she anticipates purchasing, possessing or  acquiring;  (o)
    35  has  purchased  a  safe  storage  depository for his or her firearms and
    36  ammunition as evidenced by a receipt of such  purchase;  and  [(n)]  (p)
    37  concerning  whom  no good cause exists for the denial of the license. No
    38  person shall engage in the business of gunsmith or  dealer  in  firearms
    39  unless licensed pursuant to this section. An applicant to engage in such
    40  business  shall  also be a citizen of the United States, more than twen-
    41  ty-one years of age and maintain a place of  business  in  the  city  or
    42  county  where the license is issued. For such business, if the applicant
    43  is a firm or partnership, each member thereof shall comply with  all  of
    44  the requirements set forth in this subdivision and if the applicant is a
    45  corporation,  each officer thereof shall so comply.  For the purposes of
    46  this subdivision, "safe storage depository" shall mean a safe  or  other
    47  secure  container which, when locked, is incapable of being opened with-
    48  out the key, combination or other unlocking mechanism and is capable  of
    49  preventing   an   unauthorized  person  from  obtaining  access  to  and
    50  possession of the weapon or ammunition contained therein.
    51    4-b. [Westchester county firearms] Firearms safety course certificate.
    52  [In the county of Westchester, at]  At  the  time  of  application,  the
    53  licensing officer to which the license application is made shall provide
    54  a copy of the five hour safety course booklet to each license applicant.
    55  Before such license is issued, such licensing officer shall require that
    56  the  applicant  submit  a certificate of successful completion of a five

        A. 7771                             3

     1  hour firearms safety course and test issued  in  his  or  her  name  and
     2  endorsed  and  affirmed under the penalties of perjury by a duly author-
     3  ized instructor.
     4    §  2.  The penal law is amended by adding a new section 400.25 to read
     5  as follows:
     6  § 400.25 Purchase of rifles and shotguns.
     7    1. Prior to the purchase of any rifle or shotgun, a person shall apply
     8  for a hunting license pursuant to article eleven  of  the  environmental
     9  conservation law.
    10    2.  In  addition to the requirements required by article eleven of the
    11  environmental conservation law, no hunting license for the purchase of a
    12  rifle or shotgun shall be issued except for an applicant: (a) who is not
    13  an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance  as  defined
    14  in  section  21 U.S.C.  802 and has provided notarized proof of a passed
    15  drug test by a licensed physician; (b) who has stated whether he or  she
    16  has ever suffered any mental illness and has provided notarized proof of
    17  a  passed  mental health evaluation by a licensed physician; (c) who has
    18  successfully completed a five hour firearms safety course  and  test  as
    19  evidenced  by  a certificate of completion issued in his or her name and
    20  endorsed and affirmed under the penalties of perjury by a  duly  author-
    21  ized  instructor,  except that persons who are honorably discharged from
    22  the United States army, navy, marine corps or coast  guard,  or  of  the
    23  national  guard  of the state of New York, and produce evidence of offi-
    24  cial qualification in firearms  during  the  term  of  service  are  not
    25  required  to  have  completed  those  hours  of a firearms safety course
    26  pertaining to the safe use, carrying, possession, maintenance and  stor-
    27  age of firearms, shotguns and rifles; (d) who has successfully completed
    28  live firing instruction and a test with at least ninety percent accuracy
    29  at  a shooting range using the type of rifle or shotgun he or she antic-
    30  ipates purchasing, possessing or acquiring; (e)  who  does  not  have  a
    31  criminal  record  which  would  otherwise  disqualify  him  or  her from
    32  purchasing a shotgun or rifle; and (f)  has  purchased  a  safe  storage
    33  depository  for  his or her rifle or shotgun and ammunition as evidenced
    34  by a receipt of such purchase. For the purposes of this  section,  "safe
    35  storage  depository"  shall mean a safe or other secure container which,
    36  when locked, is incapable of being opened without the  key,  combination
    37  or  other  unlocking mechanism and is capable of preventing an unauthor-
    38  ized person from obtaining access to and possession  of  the  weapon  or
    39  ammunition contained therein.
    40    3.  Before a license is issued, there shall be an investigation of all
    41  statements related to the requirements  of  this  section  by  the  duly
    42  constituted police authorities of the locality where such application is
    43  made.  For  that  purpose,  the records of the appropriate office of the
    44  department of mental  hygiene  concerning  previous  or  present  mental
    45  illness of the applicant shall be available for inspection by the inves-
    46  tigating  officer  of  the  police  authority. In order to ascertain any
    47  previous criminal record, the investigating officer shall take the fing-
    48  erprints and physical descriptive data in quadruplicate of each individ-
    49  ual by whom the application is made. Two  copies  of  such  fingerprints
    50  shall  be  taken  on standard fingerprint cards eight inches square, and
    51  one copy may be taken on a card supplied for that purpose by the federal
    52  bureau of investigation. When completed,  one  standard  card  shall  be
    53  forwarded  to  and retained by the division of criminal justice services
    54  in the executive department, at Albany. A search of the  files  of  such
    55  division  and  written  notification of the results of the search to the
    56  investigating officer shall be made without unnecessary delay. Thereaft-

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     1  er, such division shall notify the issuing  officer  and  the  executive
     2  department,  division of state police, Albany, of any criminal record of
     3  the applicant filed therein subsequent to the search  of  its  files.  A
     4  second  standard  card,  or  the  one  supplied by the federal bureau of
     5  investigation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded to that bureau  at
     6  Washington  with  a request that the files of the bureau be searched and
     7  notification of the results of the search be made to  the  investigating
     8  police  authority.  Of the remaining two fingerprint cards, one shall be
     9  filed with the executive department, division of state  police,  Albany,
    10  within  ten  days after issuance of the license, and the other remain on
    11  file with the investigating police authority. No such  fingerprints  may
    12  be  inspected  by  any  person other than a peace officer, who is acting
    13  pursuant to his special duties, or a police officer, except on order  of
    14  a judge or justice of a court of record either upon notice to the licen-
    15  see  or  without  notice,  as the judge or justice may deem appropriate.
    16  Upon completion of the investigation, the police authority shall  report
    17  the results to the issuing officer without unnecessary delay.
    18    4.  In  acting  upon  an application, the issuing officer shall either
    19  deny the application for reasons specifically and  concisely  stated  in
    20  writing or grant the application and issue the license applied for.
    21    §  3.  Subdivision 1 of section 11-0701 of the environmental conserva-
    22  tion law is amended by adding a new paragraph c to read as follows:
    23    c. entitles the holder to purchase a rifle or  shotgun  provided  such
    24  holder  meets the requirements of section 400.25 of the penal law or any
    25  other related provision of law.
    26    § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 11-0713 of the  environmental  conserva-
    27  tion law is amended by adding a new paragraph a-1 to read as follows:
    28    a-1.  The  issuing  officer  shall not issue a hunting license for the
    29  purchase of a rifle or  shotgun  to  any  person  unless  the  applicant
    30  presents  proof  that he or she meets the requirements of section 400.25
    31  of the penal law.
    32    § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    33  it shall have become a law.  Effective immediately the addition,  amend-
    34  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    35  tation  of  this  act on its effective date is authorized to be made and
    36  completed on or before such effective date.