ALBANY – In a case backers vow to take all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, a major gun rights group today filed suit in federal court in Buffalo seeking to toss out the state’s new gun control law on a host of constitutional grounds.
The lawsuit by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association, attacks the NY-SAFE Act on a host of legal fronts, including claims of violations of interstate commerce protections to the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms.
The legal work for the lawsuit has been two months in the making, and Tom King, the group’s president, said he is confident the case will be precedent-setting.
“The New York courts are fairly liberal and they have not been the friendliest to the Second Amendment, but we believe this is going to be a landmark case that is going to be eventually heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and we hope the law is overturned,’’ King said in an interview this morning.
The lawsuit says the federal commerce clause was violated by the gun law, which passed in January, because it restricts interstate commerce by requiring private gun owners to go through dealers if they want to sell to a private party in another state.
The law’s ban on assault-style weapons is being challenged on equal protection grounds and also on several federal court cases that have said a particular class of firearms cannot be banned, King said. As for the equal protection argument, King said, “If the firearms are so dangerous and the bad guys are using them, why shouldn’t individuals be able to purchase these firearms if they want.’’
King said the lawsuit also challenges the ban on sales of ammunition clips that can contain more than seven bullets. The current law allows up to 10 rounds in a clip.
On Thursday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the law is likely to be changed to permit the current 10-round clips to be sold; they were to be banned as of April 15. Cuomo said while the higher round clips can be sold, owners will not be able to place more than seven bullets in a magazine unless on a gun range or at a shooting competition.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said today that gun manufacturers have informed the state they have no intention of making special seven-round magazines to be sold in New York state.
Of the comments by Cuomo and Silver, King said: “It doesn’t do anything yet because it’s not law.’’
The NY-SAFE Act was pushed through in the wake of the recent Sandy Hook school shootings in Connecticut. Cuomo and gun advocates say such instances of violence call out for stricter gun possession and sale laws.
The new law enacted stronger prohibitions against assault-style weapons, increased registration requirements, hiked penalties for crimes committed with guns and enacted an ammunition tracking system by the state.
It also requires mental health professionals to report to county officials the names of patients they deem to be a threat to themselves or others. Counties then report those names to the state, which will check to see if they own a gun; the state then can move to confiscate their weapons. Mental health professionals have voiced concern the provision will create a chilling effect and dissuade people who might need professional help from seeking it if they think their weapons will be taken away.
Unlike any other issue in recent history in Albany, the gun debate has only intensified since the law was passed in January. Counties across the state have passed non-binding resolutions condemning the measure or asking for its repeal. And the board of supervisors in Schoharie County, which is west of Albany, last week said the county would not spend any money to enforce the law’s provisions.
The governor said today he had not seen the details of the lawsuit.
King could not immediately say why the lawsuit was being filed in federal court in Buffalo except to say it was done on the advice of lawyers.
email: tprecious@buffnews.com
The lawsuit by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association, attacks the NY-SAFE Act on a host of legal fronts, including claims of violations of interstate commerce protections to the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms.
The legal work for the lawsuit has been two months in the making, and Tom King, the group’s president, said he is confident the case will be precedent-setting.
“The New York courts are fairly liberal and they have not been the friendliest to the Second Amendment, but we believe this is going to be a landmark case that is going to be eventually heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and we hope the law is overturned,’’ King said in an interview this morning.
The lawsuit says the federal commerce clause was violated by the gun law, which passed in January, because it restricts interstate commerce by requiring private gun owners to go through dealers if they want to sell to a private party in another state.
The law’s ban on assault-style weapons is being challenged on equal protection grounds and also on several federal court cases that have said a particular class of firearms cannot be banned, King said. As for the equal protection argument, King said, “If the firearms are so dangerous and the bad guys are using them, why shouldn’t individuals be able to purchase these firearms if they want.’’
King said the lawsuit also challenges the ban on sales of ammunition clips that can contain more than seven bullets. The current law allows up to 10 rounds in a clip.
On Thursday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the law is likely to be changed to permit the current 10-round clips to be sold; they were to be banned as of April 15. Cuomo said while the higher round clips can be sold, owners will not be able to place more than seven bullets in a magazine unless on a gun range or at a shooting competition.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said today that gun manufacturers have informed the state they have no intention of making special seven-round magazines to be sold in New York state.
Of the comments by Cuomo and Silver, King said: “It doesn’t do anything yet because it’s not law.’’
The NY-SAFE Act was pushed through in the wake of the recent Sandy Hook school shootings in Connecticut. Cuomo and gun advocates say such instances of violence call out for stricter gun possession and sale laws.
The new law enacted stronger prohibitions against assault-style weapons, increased registration requirements, hiked penalties for crimes committed with guns and enacted an ammunition tracking system by the state.
It also requires mental health professionals to report to county officials the names of patients they deem to be a threat to themselves or others. Counties then report those names to the state, which will check to see if they own a gun; the state then can move to confiscate their weapons. Mental health professionals have voiced concern the provision will create a chilling effect and dissuade people who might need professional help from seeking it if they think their weapons will be taken away.
Unlike any other issue in recent history in Albany, the gun debate has only intensified since the law was passed in January. Counties across the state have passed non-binding resolutions condemning the measure or asking for its repeal. And the board of supervisors in Schoharie County, which is west of Albany, last week said the county would not spend any money to enforce the law’s provisions.
The governor said today he had not seen the details of the lawsuit.
King could not immediately say why the lawsuit was being filed in federal court in Buffalo except to say it was done on the advice of lawyers.
email: tprecious@buffnews.com
