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A4230Assembly2019-2020 Session

Punish Gun Straw Purchasers

Official title

“Makes it a class B felony to be a straw purchaser for firearms or to allow the use of your firearm in the commission of a class A or B felony”

Sponsor David WeprinAD-24Affects Legal
Status
In Assembly Committee
Codes
Impact
6/10
Moderate
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Codes

What's happening

This bill creates new penalties for straw purchasers of firearms and expands the definition of first-degree criminal facilitation.

Why it matters

  1. Targets "straw purchases" directly. By making it a first-degree criminal facilitation offense to buy a firearm for someone else (with the intention of transferring it), the bill aims to close a loophole often used to supply guns to individuals who cannot legally buy them.

  2. Expands liability for gun owners. The bill also makes it a serious crime (class B felony) to knowingly allow someone else to use your firearm to commit a class A or B felony, increasing responsibility for gun owners to secure and monitor their firearms.

  3. Increases deterrence through stiffer penalties. By categorizing these acts as first-degree criminal facilitation—a class B felony—the bill introduces much harsher penalties, potentially including long prison sentences, which could deter both straw purchasing and negligent gun transfers.

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Who cares

Headline styles

Punish Gun Straw Purchasers

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
David Weprin

Assembly Member · Assembly District 24

Chair, Insurance

No co-sponsors yet.

History

  1. Referred to codes
  2. Referred to codes

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

4230

2019-2020 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

February 1, 2019

Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to creating penalties for straw purchasers of firearms

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Section 115.08 of the penal law, as added by chapter 422 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows: § 115.08 Criminal facilitation in the first degree.

A person is guilty of criminal facilitation in the first degree when[,]:

1. believing it probable that he or she is rendering aid to a person under sixteen years of age who intends to engage in conduct that would constitute a class A felony, he or she, being over eighteen years of age, engages in conduct which provides such person with means or opportunity for the commission thereof and which in fact aids such person to commit such a class A felony; or

2. he or she purchases a firearm in his or her name with the intent of transferring possession of such firearm to another individual and does so transfer such firearm; or

3. he or she allows another person to use his or her firearm to engage in the commission of a class A or class B felony.

Criminal facilitation in the first degree is a class B felony.

§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD07400-01-9

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.