Establishes the class A misdemeanor of unlawful procurement of a firearm, for the purchase or acquisition of more than 1 firearm during any period of 30 days.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1774
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to the unlawful procurement
of a firearm
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this act is to prohibit the purchase of more than 1
firearm during any period of 30-days, thus: (a) helping prevent gun
traffickers from buying guns in bulk and reselling them to prohibited
purchasers; (b) reducing the number of guns entering the illegal market;
and (c) stemming the illegal flow of firearms between states.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the Penal law by adding a new section 265.50. The
proposed legislation establishes the crime of unlawful procurement of a
firearm when:
(i) He/She purchases or takes possession of more than one firearm from
any dealer in firearms during any 30-day period; or
(ii) Being a dealer in firearms, he/she sells or transfers a firearm to
any person who has purchased or taken possession of a firearm during the
previous 30-days. Unlawful procurement of a firearm is a class A misde-
meanor.
Section two amends the Penal law by adding a new subdivision f to Penal
law Section 265.20. This section provides exemptions to the crime of
unlawful procurement of a firearm
Section three amends the Penal law by adding a new section 400.15. The
proposed legislation requires each dealer in firearms prior to the sale
of any firearm to request approval of such sale from the Division of
Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). Upon receipt of the approval, the
dealer in firearms shall record and report such sale to DCJS within 24
hours.
Section 4 states that nothing in this act shall prevent localities from
across the state from enacting more restrictive laws regarding how many
firearms may be purchased within a certain period of time.
Section 5 sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Federal law does not limit the number of guns a person may buy during
any given time period. Studies show that firearms sold in multiple sales
to the same individual purchaser are frequently used in crime. Federal
law defines a "multiple sale" as selling two or more guns to the same
purchaser within five business days. According to the Law Center to
Prevent Gun Violence, "laws limiting an individual's ability to purchase
multiple' firearms within a short span of time reduce gun trafficking."
ATF crime gun trace data revealed that 22% of all handguns recovered in
1999 had been transferred to a purchaser involved in a multiple sale.
Crime gun trace data from 2000 showed that 20% of all retail handguns
recovered in crime were purchased as part of a multiple sale. The Ameri-
can public strongly supports laws limiting the number of guns that may
be purchased at one time. According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun
Violence, 69% of respondents in an April 2012 poll support laws limiting
multiple gun purchases.
New York City law currently limits firearms purchases to one every 90
days, and 4 states (California, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia) have
laws limiting at least some types of firearm purchases or sales to one
per month.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A.6787 - Referred to Codes; S.544 - Referred to Codes
2022: Died in Codes 2021: Died in Codes.
2020: Died in Codes 2019: Died in Codes
2018: Died in Codes 2017: Died in Codes
2016: Died in Codes 2015: Died in Codes
2014: S.572a (Gianaris) -Died in Senate Codes Committee
2014: A.03186A (Kavanagh) - Codes;
2013: A.03186 (Kavanagh) - Codes; Same as 5572 (Gianaris) - Codes
2012: 5.7834 (Gianaris) -Rules
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1774
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the unlawful procurement
of a firearm
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 265.67 to
2 read as follows:
3 § 265.67 Unlawful procurement of a firearm.
4 A person is guilty of unlawful procurement of a firearm when:
5 1. Such person purchases or takes possession of more than one firearm
6 from any dealer in firearms during any thirty-day period; or
7 2. Being a dealer in firearms, such person sells or transfers a
8 firearm to any person who has purchased or taken possession of a firearm
9 during the previous thirty days.
10 Unlawful procurement of a firearm is a class A misdemeanor.
11 § 2. Section 265.20 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi-
12 vision f to read as follows:
13 f. Section 265.67 of this article shall not apply to:
14 1. Any law enforcement or corrections agency, or police or corrections
15 officer acting within the course and scope of such person's employment
16 or official duties;
17 2. A United States Marshal, member of the armed forces of the United
18 States or the National Guard, or a federal official, who is required to
19 possess a firearm in the operation of such person's official duties;
20 3. Licensed firearms manufacturers, importers or dealers, while
21 engaged in the course and scope of their activities as licensees,
22 provided that the transfers are between licensees and all such licensees
23 are properly licensed under federal, state and local law;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01585-01-5
A. 1774 2
1 4. A gunsmith acquiring firearms solely for the purposes of service or
2 repair, or the lawful owner of the firearms retrieving the firearms back
3 from such a gunsmith;
4 5. A common carrier, warehouseperson or other person engaged in the
5 business of transporting or storing goods, to the extent that the
6 possession or receipt of any firearm is in the ordinary course of busi-
7 ness, and not for the personal use of any such person;
8 6. A person acquiring firearms by operation of law upon the death of
9 the former owner of the firearms; or
10 7. A person whose firearm was stolen or irretrievably lost and who
11 considers it essential that the firearm be replaced immediately, if:
12 (a) the person provides the seller or transferor with a copy of an
13 official police report describing the loss or theft of the firearm. The
14 official police report must contain the name and address of the firearm
15 owner, a description of the firearm, the location of the loss or theft,
16 the date of the loss or theft, and the date the loss or theft was
17 reported to the law enforcement agency; and
18 (b) the loss or theft occurred within thirty days of the person's
19 attempt to replace the firearm, as reflected by the date of loss or
20 theft on the official police report.
21 § 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 400.15 to read
22 as follows:
23 § 400.15 Duties of dealers in firearms.
24 1. Each dealer in firearms shall prior to the sale of any firearm to a
25 person request approval of such sale to such person from the division of
26 criminal justice services.
27 2. Upon receipt of the approval of the division of criminal justice
28 services of a sale of a firearm, the dealer in firearms shall record and
29 report such sale to the division of criminal justice services within
30 twenty-four hours.
31 § 4. Nothing in this act shall prevent localities across the state
32 from enacting more restrictive laws regarding how many firearms may be
33 purchased within a certain period of time.
34 § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
35 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
