New York passes bill raising age to buy, own semi-automatic rifles

New York’s ALBANY, N.Y. — legislature voted Thursday to ban anyone under age 21 from buying or possess- ing a semi-automatic rifle, a major change to state fire- arm laws pushed through less than three weeks after an 18-year-old used one of the guns to kill 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo.

The bill raising the age limit is the most significant part of a package of gun con- trol measures announced earlier this week by Demo- cratic legislative leaders and Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Other new legislation will restrict civilian purchases of bullet-resistant armor, which was worn by the killer in Buf- falo, and require new guns to be equipped with micro- stamping technology that can help law enforcement investigators trace bullets to particular firearms.

The age limit bill passed the Senate along party lines, 43-20, and in the Assembly 102-47, and will now head to Hochul’s desk for her sig- nature.

New York already requires people to be 21 to possess a handgun. Younger people would still be allowed to have other types of rifles and shotguns under the new law, but would be unable to buy the type of fast-firing rifles used by the 18-year-old gun- men in the mass shootings in Buffalo and at a Texas ele- mentary school.

Besides raising the legal purchase age to 21, the bill would also require anyone buying a semi-automatic rifle to get a license — some- thing now only required for handguns.

Many Republicans opposed the new gun limitations, arguing they would inconvenience law-abiding firearms owners and could be easily circumvented by people determined to get weapons.

Sen. Gustavo Rivera, a Bronx Democrat, said he had no problem putting up obstacles.

“It is meant to be a has- sle to those folks who might want to get their hands quickly on something with which they could mass murder people,” he said.

T he age limit change would largely impact areas outside New York City, which already requires permits to possess, carry and purchase any type of firearm and prohibits most applicants under 21.

New York would join a handful of states — including Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Vermont and Washington - that require buyers to be at least 21 instead of 18 to purchase some types of long guns. Similar legislation has been proposed in Utah.

Legal fights over the legislation are expected. New York’s law limiting who can get a handgun license is already the subject of a lawsuit now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

California’s attempt to raise the legal buying age for semi-automatic weapons has also been challenged.