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History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
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Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree
Purpose
To provide that violent felony offenders who possess a rifle or a shotgun and that nonviolent felons who possess a rifle or shotgun within 10 years of their felony conviction be guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree.
Summary of provisions
The bill amends section 265.02 of the penal law to add a new subdivision which provides that an individual who has been convicted of a violent felony who subsequently possesses a rifle or shotgun shall be guilty of the crime of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a class D Felony.
Existing law
Penal Law section 265.01 provides that a convicted felon who possesses a rifle or shotgun is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, a class A misdemeanor. This bill retains the applicability of this section for first time nonviolent felony offenders while providing that repeat nonviolent felony offenders and first time violent felony offenders will be subject to section 265.02.
Justification
The current Penal Law designates criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree under subsection 4 as a class A misdemeanor and makes no provisions for repeated violation of this statute. Therefore, a convicted felon who is repeatedly arrested for possession of a rifle or shotgun can only be convicted of a misdemeanor. This does not serve the public interest because unlike firearms, a rifle or shot- gun is not required to be registered or issued a permit to possess. Rifles and shotguns may be the weapons of choice for felons who cannot obtain pistols or sidearms requiring permits. In order to toughen the penalties surrounding violation of this statute, it is necessary to make second and further abuse by certain nonviolent felons a class D felony under criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree. Similarly, violent felons who have indicated a propensity toward violent acts who subsequently illegally possess a weapon should be subject to a stronger deterrent than nonviolent felons.
Legislative history
1990: S.6622, Senate Codes Committee 1991-1992: S.1608/A.2583, Passed Senate 1993-1994: S.1845/ A.3256, Senate Codes Committee/Assembly Codes Committee 1995: S.3234/A.5537, Passed Senate/Assembly Codes Committee 1996: S.3234, Senate Codes Committee 1997: S.1977/A.3133, Passed Senate, Assembly Codes 1998: S.1977/A.3133, Referred to Codes 1999-00: S.1775/A.3099, Passed Senate, Assembly Codes 2001-02: S.2215/A.4077, Passed Senate, Assembly Codes 2003-04: S.1393/A.2825, Referred to Codes, Assembly Codes 2005-06: S.2185, Referred to Codes 2007: S.946, Passed Senate 2008: S.946, Referred to Codes
Fiscal implications
None.
Local fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
November 1 after enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.