Dinowitz, Seawright, Lupardo, Otis, Brown K, Bores, Meeks, Shimsky
MLTSPNSR
Add §221-e, Exec L
Relates to establishing a voluntary waiver of the right to purchase firearms, rifles or shotguns; requires the division of state police to maintain statewide records of individuals who have waived the right to purchase firearms, rifles, or shotguns and any revocations of such waivers.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A198A
SPONSOR: Paulin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a volun-
tary waiver of the right to purchase firearms, rifles, or shotguns
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To establish a waiver so that individuals may voluntarily to waive their
right to purchase firearms, rifles, or shotguns.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the executive law by adding section 221-e to estab-
lish a voluntary waiver that individuals may file with the state police
to waive their right to purchase firearms, rifles, and shotguns.
Section two provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, there was-a marked increase in gun
violence, with frequent shootings reported in New York and nationwide.
Similarly, suicide rates - which already accounted for two-thirds of gun
deaths in the U.S. - continued to rise as well. Suicide deaths and
violent, impulsive killings are inextricably linked to firearms. Accord-
ing to the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, "while firearms are
used in less than 10 percent of all suicide attempts, they account for
more than half of all suicide deaths." https://americanhealthJhu.
edu/article/how- do-gun-lawsaffect-suiciderates.
In a Wall Street Journal article titled "Suicide Accounts- for Most Gun
Deaths. A Libertarian Approach Could Help," law professors Frederick
Vars and Ian Ayres advocate for a legislative solution to rising rates
of gun violence. Their plan is straightforward: to create a registry
that allows people to voluntarily give up their right to purchase guns,
but also to provide the individuals the ability to revoke that decision
at a later time if they so choose. Vars and Ayres have conducted
research and published numerous articles supporting this proposal,
including a survey where 46 percent of 200 psychiatric patients in
Alabama indicated that they would sign up for a version of the registry
if given the opportunity.
A registry of individuals who voluntarily waive their rights to purchase
firearms, rifles and shotguns would allow people to create a self-im-
posed pause, similar to a waiting period. This is critical since waiting
periods have been shown to reduce the incidence of suicide; in a study
published in an article "Looking Down the Barrel of a Loaded Gun: The
Effect of Mandatory Handgun Purchase Delays on Homicide and Suicide," by
Griffin Edwards, Erik Nesson, Joshua J. Robinson and Frederick Vars
(Dec. 7, 2017), the abstract stated: "We find that the existence of a
purchase delay reduces fire-arm related suicides by between 2% and 5%
with no statistically significant increase in non-firearm suicides."
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ abs/10.1111/ecoj.12567.
Although the lasting effect of waiting periods is disputed by some,
since suicide attempts by firearm usually result in suicide, keeping
guns out of the hands of suicidal individuals can have a huge impact.
Moreover, this remains an entirely reversible' registry, into which
someone who recognizes their own vulnerability can register willingly,
voluntarily, and confidentially, and then may elect to revoke the volun-
tary waiver.
Three states - Washington, Virginia, and Utah - have already enacted
such legislation. Other states, including Alabama, California, Massachu-
setts, Maryland, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, have introduced similar
bills.
This bill is not a restriction on the right to Purchase firearms, rather
it affords individuals the freedom to restrict themselves from a
purchase that can be deadly. The voluntary registry has been described
by advocates as "self-defense against suicide" as it allows individuals
to protect themselves from an impulsive decision to purchase a gun.
Firearm deaths account for over half of all suicides in the U.S. Indi-
viduals who experience thoughts of selfharm have few means to protect
themselves in advance from an impulsive decision. This 'registry can be
that means, and as such, it has the potential to save lives.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.565A of 2023 and 2024 amended and recommit to governmental operations.
Same as S2086A, referred to governmental operations
A.1033A of 2021 and 2022 referred to governmental operations. Same as
S.5814A of 2021 and 2022, referred to finance.
A.11121, 2020, referred to governmental operations
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION:
A-print removes the reference to the Federal National Instant Criminal
Background Check System (NICS).
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become law
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
198--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, DINOWITZ, SEAWRIGHT, LUPARDO, OTIS,
K. BROWN, BORES, MEEKS -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Governmental Operations -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a volun-
tary waiver of the right to purchase firearms, rifles, or shotguns
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 221-e
2 to read as follows:
3 § 221-e. Voluntary waiver of right to purchase firearms, rifles, or
4 shotguns. 1. An individual may file a voluntary waiver of the right to
5 purchase a firearm, rifle or shotgun with the division of state police,
6 in a manner that shall be determined by the superintendent. Such indi-
7 vidual shall then be prohibited from purchasing firearms, rifles and
8 shotguns. The division of state police shall verify the individual's
9 identity prior to accepting such form. The individual filing the waiver
10 may provide an additional individual to be contacted if the waiver is
11 revoked as set forth in subdivision three of this section.
12 2. The division of state police shall maintain statewide records of
13 individuals who waive the right to purchase firearms, rifles or shotguns
14 as set forth in subdivision one of this section and revocations of such
15 waivers as set forth in subdivision three of this section. Such records
16 shall be maintained for internal use in a manner determined by the
17 superintendent. The division of state police shall enter each waiver
18 into the New York state national instant criminal background check
19 system and any other state computer-based systems used by law enforce-
20 ment agencies or others to identify prohibited purchasers of firearms,
21 rifles and shotguns within twenty-four hours of receipt of the waiver.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01026-02-5
A. 198--A 2
1 3. An individual may file a revocation of the waiver with the division
2 of state police in a form that shall be determined by the superinten-
3 dent. The division of state police shall verify the individual's identi-
4 ty prior to accepting such revocation. Twenty-one days after receiving
5 the revocation, the division of state police shall remove the individual
6 from the New York state national instant criminal background check
7 system and any other state computer-based systems used by law enforce-
8 ment agencies or others to identify prohibited purchasers of firearms,
9 rifles and shotguns, to indicate that the individual is no longer a
10 prohibited purchaser of firearms, rifles or shotguns due to the volun-
11 tary waiver.
12 4. A waiver pursuant to this section may not be required of an indi-
13 vidual as a condition for receiving employment, benefits or services.
14 5. No records required by this section shall be subject to disclosure
15 and shall be confidential with respect to all matters involving health
16 care, employment, education, housing, insurance, government benefits,
17 and contracting.
18 6. Any information about an individual that is contained in, or trans-
19 mitted to, the division of state police shall not be used for any
20 purpose other than to determine the eligibility of the individual to
21 receive a firearm.
22 7. Any person who knowingly makes a false statement or representation
23 regarding such person's identity when submitting a voluntary waiver of
24 the right to purchase a firearm, rifle or shotgun shall be guilty of
25 offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree, as defined
26 by section 175.30 of the penal law.
27 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
28 have become a law.
