As the hours tick by on the last scheduled day of the legislative session in Albany, municipal leaders across New York are urging state and federal leaders to do more to address gun violence in the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo and Texas.
This week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the Democratic leaders of the state Assembly and Senate agreed upon a package of gun reforms following recent mass shootings.
Included in the package of 10 Democrat-backed bills is legislation that would raise the legal age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21, strengthen background checks, and investigate the role of social media in mass violence.
Governor Hochul last weekend brought her message for new restrictions to faith groups. Here she is speaking to churchgoers in Brooklyn.
“18-year-olds should not have access to them. They shouldn't be for sale in the first place, but 18-year-olds being able to get that on their birthday But also what we're learning now, in both cases, they were spewing their hate and becoming radicalized, especially the one from Buffalo about white supremacy, all on the internet.”
The new restrictions would be the most significant gun laws since the NY SAFE Act signed by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo nearly a decade ago.
Republicans also put forward their own package of reforms, focusing mainly on increasing access to mental health services, funding for law enforcement and school resource officers, and amending raise-the-age legislation for 16- and 17-year-olds charged in school-related offenses.
On Thursday, lawmakers also approved legislation calling on the federal government to reinstate a ban on assault-style weapons, including the AR-15-type guns used in Buffalo and Uvalde.
This week, mayors from across New York also urged Congress to act. Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, a Democrat, was among those on a virtual press conference.
“In addition to mental health services, in addition to ensuring that we are working in our schools, in addition to bring an all-of-government approach to our communities, we have to and we need action around the proliferation of guns in our community,” said Sheehan.
The Troy City Council passed a bipartisan resolution urging federal action in late May.
The Republican-controlled city council unanimously approved the resolution urging the Senate to pass legislation to require background checks for nearly all gun sales, including at gun shows and online.
Troy Mayor Patrick Madden, a Democrat, said he hoped “meaningful progress” can be made on federal background checks, mandatory wait-times for gun sales, and red flag laws.
Speaking with WAMC, Madden acknowledged the resolution is symbolic.
“But if we can get every city, every municipality in the country to do something like that, maybe it would convince the Republicans in the Senate that it’s OK to do this. We’re not asking for radical changes. We’re asking for common-sense improvements that enjoy majority support in the country.”
In March 2021, the House passed the so-called Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which has stalled in the Senate.
Republican City Council President Carmella Mantello said Troy has seen more violence in the last two years than the prior 20.
“I want to focus on what we can do locally, but at the same time I recognize we also – bipartisan – have to implore federal leaders to not take away that Second Amendment, but also at the same time pass some commonsense red flag. Pass commonsense background checks. And we’re doing that here in New York State, but at the same we can always do more.”
Mantello also hopes the city’s hiring of six community-policing officers will build more trust in law enforcement.
