On Oct. 21, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed two gun bills at the annual benefit dinner of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, one of the advocacy groups credited with pushing them through, and was then given an award.
According to the governor’s office, the two measures do separate things. One closes what supporters called a gap in ammunition background checks. The other, known as Francesco’s Law, requires gun owners to keep firearms locked up when they are not in use, whether or not children live in the home.
Ammunition
The first bill, S.7236, aligns the rules for buying ammunition with the rules for buying a gun. Under the bill, according to the governor’s office, people barred by law from owning a rifle or shotgun, or subject to a temporary or extreme risk protection order, may not buy ammunition. (The release lists the Assembly companion as A.7983 in its headline and as A.7943 in its body.)
Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz of the Bronx, who thanked Senator Michael Gianaris for working with him on the bill, described it simply. “This legislation is common sense,” he said in the release. “If a person fails a background check to buy or possess a shotgun or rifle, they should also be unable to purchase ammunition.”
Mr. Gianaris, of Queens, whom the release identifies as the former Senate deputy majority leader, issued a statement that read more like a tribute than a bill comment. “This is not the first new law she has enacted to make New Yorkers safer and I am sure it will not be the last,” he said. “It has been an honor to work with the Governor all these years and am very proud of the legacy being left behind, even as there are years of great leadership still to come from Kathy Hochul.”
Locked storage
The second bill, A.1962-B/S.9629, is the more significant change. New York already required safe storage in certain homes, such as those where a minor or a person barred from owning guns lives. According to the governor’s office, Francesco’s Law “closes a gap in state law that allowed gun owners to leave firearms unsecured in homes without children or prohibited individuals.” Under the new law, owners must keep guns “in an appropriate, locked storage container when they are not being used.” The law also creates stronger penalties when minors or unlicensed people get hold of unsecured guns.
The law is named for a 17-year-old who died in 2021. The governor signed it on the fifth anniversary of his death. His mother, Diana Cochran, helped establish Francesco’s Foundation and, in the release’s words, “became a leading advocate for stronger gun safety laws.”
State Senator Erik Bottcher of Manhattan gave the most personal statement in the release. “His story is deeply personal to me,” he said. “Like Francesco, I struggled with my identity and mental health as a teenager.” He added: “A locked gun can mean the difference between a life lost and a life saved.” He credited Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Rebecca Fischer and New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, Brady, GIFFORDS, the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions and Everytown. “Above all,” he said, “I commend Diana Cochran, Francesco’s mom, who transformed unimaginable grief into a legacy that will save lives.”
Assemblymember Khaleel M. Anderson of Queens said the law “is a testament to the power of a family’s advocacy and the responsibility we have as legislators to protect our communities.” He thanked “Diana and Jennifer for their courage, persistence and commitment to making sure Francesco’s legacy saves lives.”
The governor’s record
Ms. Hochul’s own statement was the standard one. “Keeping New Yorkers safe is my number one priority,” she said, “which is why as Governor, I set out to enact one of the nation’s most advanced gun safety agendas.” Her office says she has committed nearly $4 billion to public safety initiatives and doubled funding to combat gun violence. It also cites a partnership with 11 other states to intercept weapons along the I-95 corridor, stronger red-flag laws, tighter concealed-carry laws after the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, and spending in the current budget on 3-D printed guns and do-it-yourself machine guns.
At the dinner, Ms. Hochul received the Allard K. Lowenstein Award for Public Service. It is named for the civil rights activist, antiwar leader and New York congressman, and it recognizes, according to the release, people who champion “common-sense gun safety legislation.”
What it means
A gun bill signed at a gun-safety benefit is not hard to read politically. The ammunition bill is a technical alignment of two sets of rules. The storage law reaches further: it applies to every gun owner in the state, including those whose homes have no children. Whether it changes behavior will depend on enforcement and on how many owners learn of it.
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Featured image: The New York State Capitol in Albany. Photo by Beyond My Ken via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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