The New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act passed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shootings and was one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D-N.Y.) signature progressive pieces of legislation.
Two years later, with both shootings and homicides on the rise, it has become evident that the law has done nothing to stop crime. It has only acted as a nuisance to law-abiding gun owners.
Newsday reported Monday that the New York State Senate, controlled by Republicans, finally voted 35-26 to repeal parts of the SAFE Act.
According to Capital New York, the measure sponsored by State Sen. Jim Seward will repeal a background check requirement on people buying ammunition, allow citizens to inherit “assault weapons” from their family members, notify and allow an appeals process for people alleged to have mental health problems, and abolish the public registration of firearm ownership.
Currently, all gun ownership in New York must be made public unless a gun owner applies to have that information be kept secret.
The changes will now go to the Democrat-controlled State Assembly, where Speaker Carl Heastie says it will face an uphill challenge, despite a handful of Senate Democrats supporting the changes.
This gridlock has many New York gun activists feeling discouraged.
“It would be a great thing if it got passed the Assembly, but we’re not even cautiously optimistic. If it’s going to be a one-house bill, as far as we’re concerned this amounts to them doing nothing,”Jake Palmateer, an organizer for the grassroots gun rights group NY2A, said in an interview with Capital New York. “If they can’t work to get some of these minor changes passed in the Assembly—and if it’s just a one-house bill so they can get press releases out—it means nothing to us.”
