Almost immediately after the Dec. 14, 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo promised that New York State would pass the toughest gun control law in the nation. One month later, the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act’s (SAFE Act) was introduced into the Legislature at night under a “message of necessity,” bypassing the normal requirement for a three day legislative review period. Cuomo signed it the next day, despite there having been no opportunity for the public, advocacy and interest groups or even legislators to read it, much less question or comment on it.
The SAFE Act includes an assault weapons ban, a ban on large capacity ammunition loading devices, reporting requirements for medical professionals who have reason to believe that a patient is likely to engage in conduct that would result in significant harm to self or others, the extension of background checks to firearms transfers between private persons, controls on ammunition sales and a number of other less salient prohibitions, regulations and new offences. This entire omnibus gun control law deserves careful attention, but the recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York Pistol & Rifle Club v. Cuomo, upholding the assault weapons ban, provides an opportune moment to review and assess that important part of the law.
