Bill Text: NY A00613 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Criminalizes the sale of ghost guns; requires gunsmiths to register and serialize firearms, rifles, shotguns, and unfinished frames or receivers they assemble.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-06-07 - substituted by s14a [A00613 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A00613-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 613--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, DINOWITZ, STERN, SIMON, GRIFFIN, PAULIN, OTIS, JACOBSON, SEAWRIGHT, BURDICK, SILLITTI, GALEF, ZEBROW- SKI, JEAN-PIERRE, THIELE, CARROLL, PERRY, EPSTEIN, RICHARDSON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to enacting the Jose Webster untraceable firearms act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Jose 2 Webster untraceable firearms act". 3 § 2. Section 265.00 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi- 4 vision 8-a to read as follows: 5 8-a. "Serialized" means bearing a visible identification number and/or 6 symbol in accordance with the requirements imposed on licensed importers 7 and licensed manufacturers pursuant to subsection (i) of Section 923 of 8 Title 18 of the United States Code and regulations issued pursuant ther- 9 eto in effect at the time of assembly, except for antique firearms as 10 defined in subdivision fourteen of this section, as added by chapter 11 nine hundred eighty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred seventy-four, or 12 any firearm, rifle or shotgun manufactured prior to nineteen hundred 13 sixty-eight. 14 § 3. Section 265.00 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi- 15 vision 32 to read as follows: 16 32. "Ghost gun" means a firearm, rifle or shotgun that does not comply 17 with the provisions of section 265.07 of this article and is not serial- 18 ized. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00324-14-1A. 613--A 2 1 § 4. Subdivision 8 of section 265.01 of the penal law, as amended by 2 chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, is amended and a new subdivision 9 is 3 added to read as follows: 4 (8) [He] Such person possesses any armor piercing ammunition with 5 intent to use the same unlawfully against another. 6 (9) Such person is not required to be a gunsmith licensed pursuant to 7 section 400.00 of this chapter and, knowing it is a ghost gun, such 8 person possesses a ghost gun, provided that a person shall not be guilty 9 under this subdivision when he or she (a) voluntarily surrenders such 10 ghost gun to any law enforcement official designated pursuant to subpar- 11 agraph (f) of paragraph one of subdivision (a) of section 265.20 of this 12 article; or (b) for a period of six months after the effective date of 13 this section possesses a ghost gun prior to serialization and registra- 14 tion of such ghost gun pursuant to section 265.07 of this article. 15 § 5. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 265.07 to read 16 as follows: 17 § 265.07 Registration and serialization of firearms, rifles, shotguns, 18 finished frames or receivers, and unfinished frames or 19 receivers. 20 (1) For the purposes of this section, "unfinished frame or receiver" 21 means any material that does not constitute the frame or receiver of a 22 firearm, rifle or shotgun but that has been shaped or formed in any way 23 for the purpose of becoming the frame or receiver of a firearm, rifle or 24 shotgun, and which may readily be made into a functional frame or 25 receiver through milling, drilling or other means. The term shall not 26 include material that has had its size or external shape altered to 27 facilitate transportation or storage or has had its chemical composition 28 altered. 29 (2) On or before the effective date of this section, and promptly upon 30 taking possession thereof at any time thereafter, any person required to 31 be a gunsmith licensed pursuant to section 400.00 of this chapter, who 32 is in possession of an unserialized firearm, rifle, shotgun, finished 33 frame or receiver, or unfinished frame or receiver shall: 34 (a) engrave, cast, stamp or otherwise conspicuously place both a 35 unique serial number and his or her name (or recognized abbreviation) on 36 such firearm, rifle, shotgun, finished frame or receiver, or unfinished 37 frame or receiver, in a manner that satisfies or exceeds the require- 38 ments imposed on licensed importers and manufacturers pursuant to 39 section (i) of Section 923 of Title 18 of the United States Code and 40 regulations issued pursuant thereto at the time of such assembly; and 41 (b) register with the division of state police any such firearm, rifle 42 or shotgun, finished frame or receiver, or unfinished frame or receiver. 43 Any person required to be a gunsmith licensed pursuant to section 44 400.00 of this chapter who fails to comply with the provisions of this 45 section shall be guilty of a class E felony. 46 § 6. The penal law is amended by adding two new sections 265.60 and 47 265.61 to read as follows: 48 § 265.60 Criminal sale of a ghost gun in the second degree. 49 1. A person is guilty of criminal sale of a ghost gun in the second 50 degree when, knowing or having reason to know it is a ghost gun, he or 51 she sells, exchanges, gives or disposes of a ghost gun to another 52 person. 53 2. Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, a person shall not 54 be guilty of criminal sale of a ghost gun in the second degree when such 55 person: (a) voluntarily surrenders such ghost gun to any law enforcement 56 official designated pursuant to subparagraph (f) of paragraph one ofA. 613--A 3 1 subdivision (a) of section 265.20 of this article; or (b) within a peri- 2 od of six months after the effective date of this section sells, 3 exchanges, gives, or disposes of such ghost gun to a gunsmith licensed 4 pursuant to section 400.00 of this chapter. 5 Criminal sale of a ghost gun in the second degree is a class E felony. 6 § 265.61 Criminal sale of a ghost gun in the first degree. 7 1. A person is guilty of criminal sale of a ghost gun in the first 8 degree when, knowing or having reason to know they are ghost guns, he or 9 she sells, exchanges, gives or disposes of ten or more ghost guns to 10 another person or persons. 11 2. Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, a person shall not 12 be guilty of criminal sale of a ghost gun in the first degree if he or 13 she: (a) voluntarily surrenders such ghost guns to any law enforcement 14 official designated pursuant to subparagraph (f) of paragraph one of 15 subdivision (a) of section 265.20 of this article; or (b) within a peri- 16 od of six months after the effective date of this section sells, 17 exchanges, gives, or disposes of such ghost guns to a gunsmith licensed 18 pursuant to section 400.00 of this chapter. 19 Criminal sale of a ghost gun in the first degree is a class D felony. 20 § 7. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part 21 of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to 22 be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the 23 remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, 24 sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved in the 25 controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered. 26 § 8. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 27 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 28 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 29 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 30 completed on or before such effective date.