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- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
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Permits persons eleven years of age to possess a rifle under certain circumstances
In Assembly Committee · Codes · Sponsor Andrew Goodell
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S654
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to lawful possession of weapons by persons eleven years of age
Purpose or general idea of bill
To reduce by one year the age at which one may participate in certain sport shooting safety programs.
Summary of specific provisions
Subdivision a. of section 265.20 penal law is amended by adding a new paragraph 7-f.
Justification
Section 265.20(a)(7) Penal Law provides an exemption to a number of "criminal possession of weapon" statutes, thereby allowing a person twelve years of age, among others, to possess, load, and fire any caliber rifle or shotgun when supervised by a certified rifle instructor or parent at any shooting range. This provision prevents an eleven-year-old, the age at which one may join the Boy Scouts, from participating in the shooting program offered at camp.
This bill would not allow an eleven-year-old to possess any rifle or shotgun, but instead is limited to a single shot .22 caliber rifle. This bill would also not allow such possession to occur at any shooting range, but rather is limited to those that adhere to the strict layout and operating standards established by the National Council of Boy Scouts of America. These include range layouts regarding backstops, firing lanes, and equipment storage and a limit of no more then eight shooters supervised by one instructor, among other standards. Finally, unlike current law, an untrained parent or guardian may not provide supervision. Rather, supervision and instruction is limited to only certain adults who are certified by the military, the NRA or the Boy Scouts as a rifle instructor.
The Boy Scouts of America maintains that the key to firearm safety is education and training, such as that provided by its shooting program. Strict safety and other operating standards have made the Boy Scouts program among the safest in the country.
This bill is introduced at the request of the Allegheny Highlands Council, Inc. of the Boy Scouts of America.
Prior legislative history
S.3199 of 2009-10 A.2579 of 2007-08
Fiscal implications
This legislation has no fiscal implications.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.