NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10053A
SPONSOR: Simon TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law and the general business law, in relation
to pistol converters
PURPOSE:
To add common conversion devices to the definition of rapid-fire modifi-
cation devices for the purposes of firearm offenses and to require
firearm sellers to take reasonable precautions to prevent the installa-
tion or use of such devices.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends section 265.00 of the penal law to add the
definition of pistol converter.
Section 2 of the bill amends section 898-a of the general business law
to require firearm sellers to take reasonable steps to prevent the
installation and use of a rapid-fire modification device on qualified
products.
JUSTIFICATION:
In recent years machine gun conversion devices---which can transform an
ordinary pistol into an automatic weapon by allowing it to fire as many
as 15 rounds in under two seconds---have proliferated across the coun-
try. A 2023 report by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives revealed that the recovery of such•devices by the agency
has increased 570 percent, with 5,454 such devices seized from 2017 to
2021 alone.
This bill would clarify that pistol converters, even when sold separate-
ly from a firearm are rapid-fire modification devices under New York law
and would require firearm sellers in New York state to take reasonable
steps to prevent their use and installation. It would ensure that New
York law reflects the concerning trend toward automation of guns and
require those distributing guns in New York state to be diligent about
preventing their installation and use where possible.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10053--A
IN ASSEMBLY
May 2, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SIMON, GALLAGHER, SEAWRIGHT, SIMONE, DICKENS,
THIELE, ROZIC, CUNNINGHAM, L. ROSENTHAL, STECK, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, RAMOS,
GLICK, SHIMSKY, BURGOS, MEEKS, SILLITTI -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Codes -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the penal law and the general business law, in relation
to pistol converters
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 265.00 of the penal law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision 36 to read as follows:
3 36. "Pistol converter" means any device or instrument that when
4 installed in or attached to the slide of a semi-automatic pistol inter-
5 feres with the trigger mechanism and thereby enables the pistol to
6 discharge a number of shots or bullets rapidly or automatically with one
7 continuous pull of the trigger.
8 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 898-a of the general business law, as
9 added by chapter 237 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
10 2. "Reasonable controls and procedures" shall mean policies that
11 include, but are not limited to: (a) instituting screening, security,
12 inventory and other business practices to prevent thefts of qualified
13 products as well as sales of qualified products to straw purchasers,
14 traffickers, persons prohibited from possessing firearms under state or
15 federal law, or persons at risk of injuring themselves or others; [and]
16 (b) preventing deceptive acts and practices and false advertising and
17 otherwise ensuring compliance with all provisions of article
18 twenty-two-A of this chapter; and (c) taking reasonable steps to prevent
19 the installation and use of a pistol converter, as defined in section
20 265.00 of the penal law, on qualified products.
21 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11326-05-4
