Magazine limit changed in gun law

Dan Glaun

New York’s gun owners can again purchase 10-round magazines – but loading them to capacity could lead to legal trouble.

Lawmakers amended New York’s toughest-in-the-nation gun law last Thursday night as part of the state budget bill, changing the terms of its restrictions on high-capacity magazines and crafting an exemption for law enforcement officers.

The law, passed in the wake of the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, originally banned the sale of any magazines holding more than seven rounds.

But, according to state Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel, the law did not account for the fact that seven-round magazines aren’t manufactured, leading to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s push for an amendment. The purchase of 10-round magazines is now legal – but gun owners are prohibited from storing more than seven rounds in each one.

“I think, because of the [budget] deadline, I believe what we’re going to do for now at least is allow the magazine clips to be at 10,” Schimel said Thursday ahead of the chamber’s vote on the budget. “But apparently the governor insists that you can only load it to seven.”

Schimel said both the original text of the law and its amendment were driven by Cuomo’s office.

“I had asked for 10, I was familiar with the manufacturing process, and it’s usually done in tens,” Schimel said. “I don’t know where he got seven.”

Schimel, a long-time gun control advocate, praised Cuomo’s dedication to passing the new act, which also includes a tighter assault weapons ban and measures to prevent gun ownership by mentally ill people.

But the changes to the law, which gun rights advocates criticized as being rushed through Albany without much opportunity for debate, are Cuomo’s responsibility, according to Schimel.

“The buck stops with the governor,” she said.

The amendment also lifted gun restrictions for law enforcement officers, and Schimel said she hopes a future amendment will do the same for retired police.

New York’s gun law is a start, said Schimel, who noted that it is already illegal in most cases to hunt with more than six rounds in a magazine.

But the real test for gun control, according to the Great Neck assemblywoman, will be in Washington.

“I’m more concerned with what the federal government is trying to do,” Schimel said. “They can’t even get through a universal background check. That is amazing.”

 

Reach reporter Dan Glaun by e-mail at dglaun@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x203. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.

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