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A514Assembly2019-2020 Session

No Guns for Terror Watchlist

Official title

“Prohibits persons named on the consolidated terrorist watchlist from obtaining or renewing a license to carry, possess, repair and dispose of firearms”

Sponsor Thomas AbinantiAD-92+23 co-sponsorsAffects Legal
Status
In Assembly Committee
Codes
Impact
5/10
Moderate
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Codes

What's happening

This bill would prohibit individuals on the federal No Fly List from obtaining or renewing a firearm license in New York.

Why it matters

  1. Expands background checks to include the federal No Fly List,. meaning anyone flagged by the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center would be automatically disqualified from obtaining or renewing a firearm license in New York. This could affect individuals not previously barred under other eligibility rules.

  2. Introduces a new legal standard for firearm licensing,. which could increase the number of denials and revocations beyond those with criminal or mental health histories. The inclusion of the No Fly List adds a federal security-based layer to state-level gun regulation.

  3. Raises potential civil liberties and due process concerns,. since individuals placed on the No Fly List are often not given advance notice or a clear route to challenge their inclusion. The bill could therefore impact people who have not been charged or convicted of a crime but are still prevented from gun ownership.

  4. Could be seen as a step toward aligning state gun laws with federal anti-terrorism efforts,. reflecting broader efforts to close what some see as loopholes in firearm access for individuals suspected of posing national security risks, even if those risks have not been adjudicated in court.

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Who cares

Headline styles

No Guns for Terror Watchlist

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

Sponsors

History

  1. Referred to codes
  2. Referred to codes

Full text

3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

514

2019-2020 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)

January 9, 2019

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

AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to prohibiting persons named on the No Fly List maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from obtaining or renewing a license to carry, possess, repair and dispose of firearms

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

Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 400.00 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:

1. Eligibility. No license shall be issued or renewed pursuant to this section except by the licensing officer, and then only after investigation and finding that all statements in a proper application for a license are true. No license shall be issued or renewed except for an applicant (a) twenty-one years of age or older, provided, however, that where such applicant has been honorably discharged from the United States army, navy, marine corps, air force or coast guard, or the national guard of the state of New York, no such age restriction shall apply; (b) of good moral character; (c) who has not been convicted anywhere of a felony or a serious offense; (d) who is not a fugitive from justice; (e) who is not an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance as defined in section 21 U.S.C. 802; (f) who being an alien (i) is not illegally or unlawfully in the United States or (ii) has not been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa subject to the exception in 18 U.S.C. 922(y)(2); (g) who has not been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions; (h) who, having been a citizen of the United States, has not renounced his or her citizenship; (i) who has stated whether he or she has ever suffered any mental illness; (j) who has not been involuntarily committed to a facility under the jurisdiction of an office of the department of mental

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

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD04997-01-9

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hygiene pursuant to article nine or fifteen of the mental hygiene law, article seven hundred thirty or section 330.20 of the criminal procedure law, section four hundred two or five hundred eight of the correction law, section 322.2 or 353.4 of the family court act, or has not been civilly confined in a secure treatment facility pursuant to article ten of the mental hygiene law; (k) who has not had a license revoked or who is not under a suspension or ineligibility order issued pursuant to the provisions of section 530.14 of the criminal procedure law or section eight hundred forty-two-a of the family court act; (l) in the county of Westchester, who has successfully completed a firearms safety course and test as evidenced by a certificate of completion issued in his or her name and endorsed and affirmed under the penalties of perjury by a duly authorized instructor, except that: (i) persons who are honorably discharged from the United States army, navy, marine corps or coast guard, or of the national guard of the state of New York, and produce evidence of official qualification in firearms during the term of service are not required to have completed those hours of a firearms safety course pertaining to the safe use, carrying, possession, maintenance and storage of a firearm; and (ii) persons who were licensed to possess a pistol or revolver prior to the effective date of this paragraph are not required to have completed a firearms safety course and test; (m) who has not had a guardian appointed for him or her pursuant to any provision of state law, based on a determination that as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, mental illness, incapacity, condition or disease, he or she lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his or her own affairs; [and] (n) who is not named on the No Fly List maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and (o) concerning whom no good cause exists for the denial of the license. No person shall engage in the business of gunsmith or dealer in firearms unless licensed pursuant to this section. An applicant to engage in such business shall also be a citizen of the United States, more than twenty-one years of age and maintain a place of business in the city or county where the license is issued. For such business, if the applicant is a firm or partnership, each member thereof shall comply with all of the requirements set forth in this subdivision and if the applicant is a corporation, each officer thereof shall so comply.

§ 2. Subdivision 4 of section 400.00 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:

4. Investigation. Before a license is issued or renewed, there shall be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the duly constituted police authorities of the locality where such application is made, including but not limited to such records as may be accessible to the division of state police or division of criminal justice services pursuant to section 400.02 of this article. For that purpose, the records of the appropriate office of the department of mental hygiene concerning previous or present mental illness of the applicant shall be available for inspection by the investigating officer of the police authority. In order to ascertain any previous criminal record, the investigating officer shall take the fingerprints and physical descriptive data in quadruplicate of each individual by whom the application is signed and verified. Two copies of such fingerprints shall be taken on standard fingerprint cards eight inches square, and one copy may be taken on a card supplied for that purpose by the federal bureau of investigation; provided, however, that in the case of a corporate applicant that has already been issued a dealer in firearms license and

A. 514 3

seeks to operate a firearm dealership at a second or subsequent location, the original fingerprints on file may be used to ascertain any criminal record in the second or subsequent application unless any of the corporate officers have changed since the prior application, in which case the new corporate officer shall comply with procedures governing an initial application for such license. When completed, one standard card shall be forwarded to and retained by the division of criminal justice services in the executive department, at Albany. A search of the files of such division and written notification of the results of the search to the investigating officer shall be made without unnecessary delay. Thereafter, such division shall notify the licensing officer and the executive department, division of state police, Albany, of any criminal record of the applicant filed therein subsequent to the search of its files. A second standard card, or the one supplied by the federal bureau of investigation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded to that bureau at Washington with a request that the files of the bureau, including the No Fly List maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center, be searched and notification of the results of the search be made to the investigating police authority. Of the remaining two fingerprint cards, one shall be filed with the executive department, division of state police, Albany, within ten days after issuance of the license, and the other remain on file with the investigating police authority. No such fingerprints may be inspected by any person other than a peace officer, who is acting pursuant to his special duties, or a police officer, except on order of a judge or justice of a court of record either upon notice to the licensee or without notice, as the judge or justice may deem appropriate. Upon completion of the investigation, the police authority shall report the results to the licensing officer without unnecessary delay.

§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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.