New York’s budget agreement, announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) on Thursday, established the first ban on 3D printers that can print guns in the United States, as well as several other measures aimed at gun control and gun violence prevention.
Hochul’s crackdown on gun manufacturing in the Empire State is similar to that of Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), who has also taken bold steps to control firearms.
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Legislation banning ghost guns, which are firearms assembled from kits or parts that lack serial numbers, was already signed by Hochul during her tenure. She signed a bill in 2021 that bans the sale, manufacture, and ownership of untraceable, unserialized firearms.
The new ban in New York targets the manufacturers of so-called ghost guns: 3D printers.
Hochul’s budget introduced the first-of-its-kind legislation to regulate the capabilities of 3D printers by requiring every such printer to include technology that blocks it from printing a firearm. The legislation also increases the criminal penalties for manufacturing ghost guns.
Additionally, Hochul included a provision that requires firearm makers to design guns in a manner that bars them from being quickly rigged into illegal machine guns.
On the financial front, the budget would dedicate $352 million toward gun violence prevention programs.
Hochul’s moves mirror those of Spanberger last month, as the Old Dominion’s governor signed a slew of gun control bills that also ban ghost guns and go after manufacturers.
Spanberger signed a ban on the manufacture, sale, and possession of ghost guns because such guns, she said, can make it difficult for law enforcement to trace.
Also in her gun control spree, Spanberger inked legislation creating a legal pathway for victims to sue companies that fail to implement reasonable safeguards in the sale and distribution of firearms.
Hochul’s budget targets other areas of public safety, providing $77 million to the New York City Police Department to police the city’s subway system. Another way she’s looking to make public transit safer is by investing $25 million in the program to respond to severe mental illness incidents, expanding the service from 10 to 15 teams.
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For motorists, New York will now require NYC drivers who receive 16 or more speed-camera violations in a year to install speed-limiter devices in their cars.
Finally, under the public safety umbrella, Hochul’s budget invests $35 million for Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes grants, a measure she has invested millions in during her tenure. Additionally, she established buffer zones around places of worship, “so New Yorkers can practice religion, a guaranteed right, free of harassment.”
