By Kevin Gray and David Bailey
Jan 15 (Reuters) - New York was poised on Tuesday to become
the first state to approve broad gun control legislation since
the Connecticut school massacre in December, including an
expanded ban on assault weapons and limits on ammunition
capacity.
The majority Republican state Senate voted 43-18 on Monday
to advance a bill that Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo outlined
a month after the shooting that killed 20 students and six
adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in neighboring
Connecticut.
The majority Democratic Assembly planned to take up the bill
on Tuesday after its session begins at 10 a.m. and it was
expected to win approval. If the bill passes, Cuomo could sign
it into law as early as Tuesday.
On the same day as developments in New York, the governor of
Maryland and Delaware's attorney general said they would press
for legislation in their states to tighten bans on assault
weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Gun control has been at the center of U.S. politics, once
again, since the Connecticut massacre. The assault rifle used in
the attack is based on a military rifle and can be equipped with
magazines that hold up to 30 rounds of ammunition.
The Senate "made a bold statement, coming together in a
bipartisan, collaborative manner to meet the challenges that
face our state and our nation, as we have seen far too many
senseless acts of gun violence," Cuomo said after the vote.
The state assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, was
expected to take up the bill on Tuesday.
NO IMPACT ON HUNTERS
New York already has among the toughest gun control laws in
the country. The proposal tightens an assault weapons ban to
include semiautomatic weapons with detachable clips that have
one feature associated with military weapons.
The state currently bans assault weapons that have two
military-style features.
The proposal also limits magazine capacity to no more than
seven cartridges, and requires a statewide re-registration of
all handguns and grandfathered in assault weapons.
It also would require mental health professionals to report
dangerous patients to county mental health officers for
potential action and would add provisions to suspend or revoke
licenses for people found to pose a danger to others.
"I believe it is the most comprehensive package in the
nation," Cuomo told reporters, adding, "Much of this is common
sense. Unfortunately, common sense has eluded us for many, many
years when it comes to this issue."
Cuomo said the proposal was not directed at and would have
no impact on hunters or sport shooters.
Cuomo said last week that the current ban on assault weapons
had so many loopholes that it was unenforceable. For example,
current law bans magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of
ammunition, but exempts those made before 1994.
The new legislation would also increase monitoring of
high-volume ammunition purchases in-person or over the Internet
and current owners of assault weapons would be required to
register them, as is required with handguns.
In Delaware on Monday, Attorney General Beau Biden joined
other state leaders in announcing gun control proposals while
his father, Democratic U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, was
preparing national gun control proposals.
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, said on
Monday he would propose a tighter ban on assault weapons and
certain magazines later this week.
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