NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A655
SPONSOR: Weprin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to creating penalties for
straw purchasers of firearms
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
The bill adds Section 115.08 of the Penal law extends the defining
circumstances of criminal facilitation guilt in the first degree to
persons assisting, making available, facilitating and/or providing an
opportunity for a principal actor to acquire an automatic weapon, shot-
gun, handgun or revolver, with which a Class A felony is performed by
the principal actor. Similarly, the bill adds a new subdivision to §
20.00 of the Penal Law and assigns criminal liability to the facilitator
of the principal actor as if he/she were the principal actor.
EXISTING LAW:
Neither Article 115 nor § 20.00 provide a definition nor distinguish
between an accomplice and an accessory. The terms appear to be used
interchangeably. Currently, the difference between criminal facilitation
and criminal liability is determined by the extent to which the contrib-
utor or facilitator participates in the crime. Under current. New York
State Law, a defendant cannot be charged with facilitating a misdemea-
nor.
Currently criminal facilitation I a class B felony only when facili-
tation is provided by an adult to a minor. Moreover the facilitator
would have to know that the perpetrator, a minor, was being assisted in
the execution of a crime.
JUSTIFICATION:
The bill is precipitated by the recent shootings in Webster, New York
where an individual allegedly facilitated the purchase of a semiautoma-
tis weapon and shotgun for a convicted felon. Said weapon was used for a
homicide and ultimately a suicide. The enactment of these amendments to
Article 115 and § 20 of the Penal Law serve as a disincentive for any
individual to make available to another a weapon that may result in the
commission of a felony to be equally culpable and accountable regardless
of there not having been shared participation in the criminal act by the
facilitator.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
02/06/17 referred to codes 01/03/18 referred to codes
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
655
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 11, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to creating penalties for
straw purchasers of firearms
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 115.08 of the penal law, as added by chapter 422 of
2 the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 115.08 Criminal facilitation in the first degree.
4 A person is guilty of criminal facilitation in the first degree
5 when[,]:
6 1. believing it probable that he or she is rendering aid to a person
7 under sixteen years of age who intends to engage in conduct that would
8 constitute a class A felony, he or she, being over eighteen years of
9 age, engages in conduct which provides such person with means or oppor-
10 tunity for the commission thereof and which in fact aids such person to
11 commit such a class A felony; or
12 2. he or she purchases a firearm in his or her name with the intent
13 of transferring possession of such firearm to another individual and
14 does so transfer such firearm; or
15 3. he or she allows another person to use his or her firearm to engage
16 in the commission of a class A or class B felony.
17 Criminal facilitation in the first degree is a class B felony.
18 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
19 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01275-01-3
