Bill Text: NY S01048 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to the dangers to the safety and health of the public caused by the sale, manufacturing, importing and marketing of firearms and whether such activity constitutes a public nuisance.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 28-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION [S01048 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S01048-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1048

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 6, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection

        AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to the dangers  to
          safety  and  health  and  creation  of a public nuisance caused by the
          sale, manufacturing, distribution, importing and marketing of firearms

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

     1    Section  1.  Legislative  findings  and intent. The legislature hereby
     2  finds that the illegal use of firearms not  only  constitutes  a  public
     3  nuisance  as  declared  in  article  400  of the penal law, but that the
     4  effects of such nuisance poses specific harm to New Yorkers based large-
     5  ly on their zip code and certain immutable characteristics such as  race
     6  and ethnicity.  Illegal firearm violence has disproportionately affected
     7  underserved  black  and brown neighborhoods in our cities and throughout
     8  the state despite stringent state and local  laws  against  the  illegal
     9  possession of firearms while, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobac-
    10  co,  Firearms  and Explosives statistics, 74% of firearms used in crimes
    11  in New York are purchased outside of New  York.  Thus,  the  legislature
    12  further  finds that given the ease at which legal firearms flow into the
    13  illegal market, and given the specific  harm  illegal  firearm  violence
    14  causes  certain New Yorkers, those responsible for the illegal or unrea-
    15  sonable sale,  manufacture,  distribution,  importing  or  marketing  of
    16  firearms  may  be  held  liable  for  the public nuisance caused by such
    17  activities.
    18    § 2. The general business law is  amended  by  adding  a  new  article
    19  39-DDDD to read as follows:
    20                               ARTICLE 39-DDDD
    21          SALE, MANUFACTURING, IMPORTING AND MARKETING OF FIREARMS
    22  Section 898-a. Definitions.
    23          898-b. Dangers to safety and health.
    24          898-c. Public nuisance.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06691-01-1
        S. 1048                             2

     1          898-d. Enforcement.
     2          898-e. Private right of action.
     3    §  898-a.  Definitions.  For  purposes  of this article, the following
     4  terms shall have the following meanings:
     5    1. "Deceptive acts or  practices"  shall  have  the  same  meaning  as
     6  defined in article twenty-two-A of this chapter.
     7    2. "False advertising" shall have the same meaning as defined in arti-
     8  cle twenty-two-A of this chapter.
     9    3.  "Gun  industry  member"  shall mean a person, firm, corporation or
    10  association engaged in the sale, manufacturing, distribution,  importing
    11  or marketing of firearms.
    12    4.  The terms "knowingly" and "recklessly" shall have the same meaning
    13  as defined in section 15.05 of the penal law.
    14    5. "Qualified product" shall have the same meaning as  defined  in  15
    15  U.S.C. section 7903(4).
    16    §  898-b.  Dangers  to  safety  and health. No gun industry member, by
    17  conduct either unlawful in itself or unreasonable under all the  circum-
    18  stances  shall  knowingly  or  recklessly create or maintain a condition
    19  that endangers the safety or health of  the  public  through  the  sale,
    20  manufacturing, importing or marketing of a qualified product.
    21    §  898-c.  Public  nuisance.  1.  A violation of section eight hundred
    22  ninety-eight-b of this article that results in harm to the public  shall
    23  hereby be declared to be a public nuisance.
    24    2.  The existence of a public nuisance shall not depend on whether the
    25  gun industry member acted for the purpose of causing harm to the public.
    26    3. The acts or omissions of a gun industry member shall  constitute  a
    27  proximate  cause  of the public nuisance if the harm to the public was a
    28  reasonably foreseeable effect of such acts or omissions, notwithstanding
    29  any intervening actions, including but not limited to  criminal  actions
    30  by third parties.
    31    4.  In  determining  whether a nuisance exists, a finder of fact shall
    32  consider the totality of the evidence, which may  include,  but  is  not
    33  limited to:
    34    (a) the distribution, importation, marketing or sales methods utilized
    35  by  the  gun  industry member and their foreseeable effects on crimes in
    36  New York;
    37    (b) the number of qualified products that have been  diverted  to  the
    38  illegal  market  through the alleged illegal, irresponsible or unreason-
    39  able conduct of the gun industry member;
    40    (c) the number of crimes that have been committed  in  New  York  with
    41  qualified products sold, manufactured, distributed, imported or marketed
    42  by  the  gun  industry  member  in the alleged illegal, irresponsible or
    43  unreasonable manner;
    44    (d) the total number of  qualified  products  that  the  gun  industry
    45  member  manufactured,  distributed or sold in the United States, through
    46  the alleged illegal, irresponsible or unreasonable conduct,  which  were
    47  recovered in, or destined for, New York;
    48    (e) whether the alleged illegal, irresponsible or unreasonable conduct
    49  of  the  gun  industry member constitutes deceptive acts or practices in
    50  the conduct of any business, trade or commerce or in the  furnishing  of
    51  any service;
    52    (f) whether the alleged illegal, irresponsible or unreasonable conduct
    53  of  the gun industry member constitutes false advertising in the conduct
    54  of any business, trade, or commerce or in the furnishing of any service;
    55  and
        S. 1048                             3

     1    (g) any other illegal, irresponsible or unreasonable acts or omissions
     2  by the gun industry member that create, contribute to or maintain public
     3  harm.
     4    §  898-d.  Enforcement. The provisions of this article may be enforced
     5  by the attorney general in the name of the people of the  state  of  New
     6  York,  or  by  the  town  attorney,  city  corporation counsel, or other
     7  lawfully designated enforcement  officer  of  a  municipality  or  local
     8  government.
     9    §  898-e.  Private  right  of action. Any person, firm, corporation or
    10  association that has been damaged as a result of a gun industry member's
    11  acts or omissions in violation of this  article  shall  be  entitled  to
    12  bring an action for recovery of damages or to enforce this article.
    13    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.