New York Governor Cuomo Signs Nation’s Toughest Gun Control Law

Supporters herald this as a model for what the rest of the country should do.

Owners of an estimated 1 million previously legal semiautomatic rifles, like the Bushmaster model used to kill 20 children and six seven adults in Newtown, Conn., a month ago, will be able to keep their weapons, but will have a year to register them with police…

In addition to outlawing a broader array of military-style weapons, the measure restricts ammunition magazines to seven bullets, down from the current 10, creates a more comprehensive database of people barred from owning guns, and makes New York the first state to require background checks to buy bullets. The system will also help flag customers who buy large amounts of ammo.

In another provision, therapists, doctors and other mental health professionals will be required to tell state authorities if a patient threatens to use a gun illegally. The patient’s weapon could then be taken away…

[The law] also requires background checks for even private gun sales, except those among immediate family.

In addition, it says handgun owners must renew their licenses every five years, and it increases prison sentences for using guns in various crimes or taking them on school grounds.

In a concession to the gun industry, local authorities will be allowed to withhold the identities of registered gun owners — an issue that erupted recently when a suburban New York City newspaper published the names and addresses of gun owners in its readership area.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.