A few months before the May 14 massacre at the Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue, the accused killer walked into the Vintage Firearms store in Endicott, a town about 20 miles from where he lived in Conklin.
At age 18, Payton Gendron, now facing murder and domestic terrorism charges, would not have been able to legally buy a handgun at that store. That’s because in New York State, you must be at least 21 and have a firearms license to buy a handgun.
But Gendron was able to legally buy himself an AR-15 rifle, which authorities say he later used to slaughter 10 people in Buffalo.
He also did not need a license to buy that semiautomatic military-style rifle. All he was required to do was pass a background check.
Legislation passed and expected to be signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul by the end of this week will raise the age to buy a semiautomatic rifle in New York to 21 and require a firearms license to do so. The package of laws, aimed at strengthening gun safety and stopping the spread of violent extremism on social media platforms, will also tighten regulations regarding “red flag laws,” ban online sales of body armor like what the accused killer was wearing and limit sales of body armor to law enforcement and other authorized people.
Red flag laws take away firearms from people who may do harm to themselves or others.
The new laws will also require firearm manufacturers to use “microstamping” technologies that would imprint a distinct mark on bullet casings, making it easier to solve gun crimes, and create a new “Office of Social Media and Violent Extremism” within the state Attorney General’s office.
“How does an 18-year-old purchase an AR-15 in the state of New York, the state of Texas? That person is not old enough to buy a legal drink,” Hochul asked at a news conference last week following the mass shooting in Texas that left 19 fourth-graders and two teachers dead. That gunman, who was fatally shot by law enforcement, was also 18. Texas authorities said the killer in the Uvalde massacre bought two AR-15s after he turned 18.
State Sen. Tim Kennedy, D-Buffalo, called the events in Buffalo “a reckoning for our state and nation to strengthen our gun safety laws,” and to stop the spread of violence extremism. “We can’t sit idly by.”
While the state legislation to raise the age to buy a rifle to 21 passed, it is sure to meet resistance.
Just three days before the mass shooting at Tops, an appeals court struck down a California law that banned the sale of semiautomatic rifles to people under 21.
“America would not exist without the heroism of the young adults who fought and died in our revolutionary army. Today we reaffirm that our Constitution still protects the right that enabled their sacrifice: the right of young adults to keep and bear arms,” wrote U.S. Circuit Court Judge Ryan Nelson in the decision.
However, the appeals court did uphold a provision that requires a hunting license to buy a rifle.
And getting firearms manufacturers to comply with microstamping regulations isn’t guaranteed either. California passed the “Unsafe Handgun Act” in 2007, requiring all new semiautomatic pistols use microstamping technology, but according to Brady United, a gun violence prevention organization, gun manufacturers said they were unable to comply. A new version of the microstamping requirement was signed into law in 2020 by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Paul McQuillen, executive director of Gun Sense New York, which advocates for gun safety regulations, said he expects challenges to the new laws.
“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to do what is the right thing,” he said. “And who knows? The temperature and mood of the country is changing. You can see that with our own local Congressman,” he said, referring to Rep. Chris Jacobs, who announced he would support a ban on new sales of assault rifles.
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