Gov. Cuomo signs New York's Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, otherwise known as the SAFE Act, into law during a ceremony in the Red Room at the Capitol in January 2013. Just under 45,000 assault-style weapons have been registered since then.
Fewer than 45,000 assault-style weapons have been registered in New York state since a landmark gun control act took effect in 2013, state records released Tuesday show, suggesting that Empire State gun owners are largely ignoring one of the signature elements of the watershed legislation.
In the years since Gov. Cuomo signed the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, otherwise known as the NY SAFE Act, a total of 23,847 people have applied to register their assault-style weapons with the state, according to statistics provided by the New York State Police.
Those individuals themselves registered 44,485 assault-style weapons — a term whose definition under the law was expanded to include military-style features like a pistol grip and popular civilian models of the M16 and AK47 assault rifles — with State Police, the data, which was first obtained by the Albany Times Union, show.
By comparison, individuals in Connecticut, a state with roughly one-fifth the population of New York, registered more than 50,000 assault-style weapons after similar legislation was passed there in April 2013.
Law enforcement experts have estimated there could be nearly 1 million assault-style weapons in circulation across the state, suggesting that many New Yorkers are ignoring a central provision of what had been touted by gun control advocates as a milestone law.
“What these numbers expose is that, if there are people who are wilfully ignoring the law, that means tens of thousands of gun owners are not complying with a law that is supported by New Yorkers," said Leah Gunn Barrett, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, citing a May poll commissioned by her group that showed state residents support key provisions of the SAFE Act.
Under New York law, failure to register an assault weapon by the April 2014 deadline can be treated as misdemeanor offense, punishable by “forfeiture of the weapon” and up to one year in jail, according to the New York State Police.
Under a different statute, the situation can also be treated as a low-level felony, punishable by up to four years in prison.
In fact, several local police departments and county sheriffs, mostly in pockets of upstate New York where hunting is popular, have been accused of not enforcing parts of the SAFE Act and refusing to encourage local residents to register their assault weapons because their officers were opposed to the law.
Breakdown of assault weapon applications by New York area countie
According to The New York Times, several upstate towns and villages have even passed resolutions denouncing the law.
Gun and Second Amendment advocates have also remained vehemently opposed to the law, a sentiment repeated Tuesday after the figures were made available.
“Many people have been calling for a full repeal of the SAFE Act. It would appear the people have just bypassed the legislature and simply repealed it on their own,” said Tom King, president of the Albany-based New York State Rifle and Pistol Association.
A spokesperson for the New York State Police, which was in charge of maintaining the database of owners of assault weapons in the state, did not immediately return a request for comment. The office of Gov. Cuomo referred all requests for comment to the New York State Police.
Among the thousands of individuals in New York state who did apply to register their assault-style weapons, about 40 percent of them live in the five boroughs, Long Island and Westchester County.
Within New York City, 1,640 people registered newly defined assault-style weapons in Manhattan County since the law went into effect in January 2013, while 109 did so in Queens County and 54 did so in Kings County, according to the information, which was ordered released by a court after it had been withheld by State Police following a January 2014 request under the state’s Freedom of Information Law.
Another 52 registered the weapons in Richmond County, while only 35 did so in Bronx County.
Long Island, however, appeared to have much higher rates of assault weapon registration, with 3,865 people in Suffolk County registering their weapons and 2,755 people doing so in Nassau County.
In Westchester County, another 1,498 registered the so-called assault-style weapons.
The SAFE Act, passed and signed into law by Cuomo in January 2013 just weeks after the tragic massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., required a state registry of assault weapons, banned “high-capacity magazines” and required background checks for all gun sales, including those conducted by private sellers, as well as by all ammunition dealers.
The legislation, said by many to be among the toughest gun control laws in the country after it passed, also required certain mental health professionals to report credible threats made by mental health patients.
Under the legislation, however, individuals who were already in possession of assault-style weapons before the law was passed were required to register their guns with the State Police by April 2014 — a condition many gun control advocates have said hasn’t been complied with.
Those groups, nevertheless, appeared to remain optimistic, even after the release of the underwhelming figures.
“Tens of thousands of people have complied with the law, that’s important. It shouldn’t be overlooked,” Barrett said. “Add we don’t know how many people in the state of New York actually have.”
Fewer than 45,000 assault-style weapons have been registered in New York state since a landmark gun control act took effect in 2013, state records released Tuesday show, suggesting that Empire State gun owners are largely ignoring one of the signature elements of the watershed legislation.
In the years since Gov. Cuomo signed the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, otherwise known as the NY SAFE Act, a total of 23,847 people have applied to register their assault-style weapons with the state, according to statistics provided by the New York State Police.
Those individuals themselves registered 44,485 assault-style weapons — a term whose definition under the law was expanded to include military-style features like a pistol grip and popular civilian models of the M16 and AK47 assault rifles — with State Police, the data, which was first obtained by the Albany Times Union, show.
By comparison, individuals in Connecticut, a state with roughly one-fifth the population of New York, registered more than 50,000 assault-style weapons after similar legislation was passed there in April 2013.
Law enforcement experts have estimated there could be nearly 1 million assault-style weapons in circulation across the state, suggesting that many New Yorkers are ignoring a central provision of what had been touted by gun control advocates as a milestone law.
“What these numbers expose is that, if there are people who are wilfully ignoring the law, that means tens of thousands of gun owners are not complying with a law that is supported by New Yorkers," said Leah Gunn Barrett, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, citing a May poll commissioned by her group that showed state residents support key provisions of the SAFE Act.
Under New York law, failure to register an assault weapon by the April 2014 deadline can be treated as misdemeanor offense, punishable by “forfeiture of the weapon” and up to one year in jail, according to the New York State Police.
Under a different statute, the situation can also be treated as a low-level felony, punishable by up to four years in prison.
In fact, several local police departments and county sheriffs, mostly in pockets of upstate New York where hunting is popular, have been accused of not enforcing parts of the SAFE Act and refusing to encourage local residents to register their assault weapons because their officers were opposed to the law.
Breakdown of assault weapon applications by New York area countieAccording to The New York Times, several upstate towns and villages have even passed resolutions denouncing the law.
Gun and Second Amendment advocates have also remained vehemently opposed to the law, a sentiment repeated Tuesday after the figures were made available.
“Many people have been calling for a full repeal of the SAFE Act. It would appear the people have just bypassed the legislature and simply repealed it on their own,” said Tom King, president of the Albany-based New York State Rifle and Pistol Association.
A spokesperson for the New York State Police, which was in charge of maintaining the database of owners of assault weapons in the state, did not immediately return a request for comment. The office of Gov. Cuomo referred all requests for comment to the New York State Police.
Among the thousands of individuals in New York state who did apply to register their assault-style weapons, about 40 percent of them live in the five boroughs, Long Island and Westchester County.
Within New York City, 1,640 people registered newly defined assault-style weapons in Manhattan County since the law went into effect in January 2013, while 109 did so in Queens County and 54 did so in Kings County, according to the information, which was ordered released by a court after it had been withheld by State Police following a January 2014 request under the state’s Freedom of Information Law.
Another 52 registered the weapons in Richmond County, while only 35 did so in Bronx County.
Long Island, however, appeared to have much higher rates of assault weapon registration, with 3,865 people in Suffolk County registering their weapons and 2,755 people doing so in Nassau County.
In Westchester County, another 1,498 registered the so-called assault-style weapons.The SAFE Act, passed and signed into law by Cuomo in January 2013 just weeks after the tragic massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., required a state registry of assault weapons, banned “high-capacity magazines” and required background checks for all gun sales, including those conducted by private sellers, as well as by all ammunition dealers.
The legislation, said by many to be among the toughest gun control laws in the country after it passed, also required certain mental health professionals to report credible threats made by mental health patients.
Under the legislation, however, individuals who were already in possession of assault-style weapons before the law was passed were required to register their guns with the State Police by April 2014 — a condition many gun control advocates have said hasn’t been complied with.
Those groups, nevertheless, appeared to remain optimistic, even after the release of the underwhelming figures.
“Tens of thousands of people have complied with the law, that’s important. It shouldn’t be overlooked,” Barrett said. “Add we don’t know how many people in the state of New York actually have.”
Notice: Not during the registration period, but since the Safe Act went into effect. 
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