On Tuesday New York state legislators passed the most comprehensive set of gun control bills since 2013. This includes measures that would ban bump stocks, lengthen the waiting period for buyers who don’t pass instant background checks and prohibit teachers from carrying guns in classrooms, The New York Times reports.
In total, six bills were passed by the state Senate and Assembly, and this is the first time a major gun control package was passed by the state since 2013, The Hill reports. That year the legislature passed gun control legislation in the wake of the massacre that killed 25 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012.
The new package includes bills that strengthen the state’s prohibition of assault weapons. Certification requirements are also tightened up.
At a news conference attended by a number of gun control activists Tuesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo lauded the new set of regulations.
“Sometimes history irrefutably bears out your actions,” he said. “Today is the next evolution of this ongoing crusade.”
Support for the package was largely partisan. That’s especially true for one bill that lengthens the waiting period for background checks from three to 30 days. Virtually zero Republicans voted yes on that one. Some Republican senators, however, did vote for the proposal that bans bump stocks. Others also voted for a bill that establishes a gun buy-back program.
The lawmakers also overwhelmingly backed a proposal that gives New York regulators more substantial grounds to search mental health records for firearms purchasers from other states.
The bold moves by Democratic lawmakers offer a clear snapshot of just how effective their routing of Senate Republicans was during last November’s elections. Let’s hope this also proves to be true in the upcoming elections in 2020.
In the video below, Cuomo discusses the new legislation, noting that even more needs to be done.
Featured image by CBS New York via YouTube video
