Prohibits persons named on the No Fly List maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from obtaining or renewing a license to carry, possess, repair and dispose of firearms.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7873
SPONSOR: Simon TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to prohibiting persons named
on the No Fly List maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center adminis-
tered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from obtaining or renewing
a license to carry, possess, repair and dispose of firearms
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To prohibit the issuance or renewal of New York State firearm licenses
to individuals who appear on the FBI's No Fly List due to their status
as suspected or known terrorists.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends penal law section 400.00(1) to add, as an
eligibility requirement for an individual seeking a New York State
firearm license, that the applicant must not be named on the No-Fly List
maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center administered by the FBI.
Section 2 amends penal law section 4.00(4) to provide that the required
background check request that local law enforcement agencies make to the
FBI prior to the issuance or renewal of a firearm license shall include
a request that the background check include searching the No-Fly List
and notifying the local law enforcement agency of the results.
Section 3 is the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION:
To make technical updates
JUSTIFICATION:
The United States' firearm homicide rate is 20 times higher than the
next 22 developed nations combined. Our country is exceptional in the
recurrence of gun violence, yet we continue to accept it as an inevita-
ble fact of American life. While we can debate the proper role of gun
control, we should all be able to agree that suspected terrorists should
not be allowed to lawfully access or possess a firearm in our state.
This "terror gap" poses a direct threat to the safety and security of
all New Yorkers. Preventing individuals identified as a credible
national security threat from being able to legally purchase a gun is a
sensible and critical change that will improve our ability to keep dead-
ly firearms out of the hands of those who mean to do us harm.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: A3841-a Abinanti/S1602 Sanders -referred to Codes
2019-20: A514 referred to codes;
2017/18: A2959 referred to codes;
2015/16: A8693 referred to codes; same as S6305 (Hoylman)-codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
this act shall take effect immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7873
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
July 7, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to prohibiting persons named
on the No Fly List maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center admin-
istered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from obtaining or
renewing a license to carry, possess, repair and dispose of firearms
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 400.00 of the penal law, as sepa-
2 rately amended by chapters 371 and 669 of the laws of 2022, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 1. Eligibility. No license shall be issued or renewed pursuant to this
5 section except by the licensing officer, and then only after investi-
6 gation and finding that all statements in a proper application for a
7 license are true. No license shall be issued or renewed except for an
8 applicant (a) twenty-one years of age or older, provided, however, that
9 where such applicant has been honorably discharged from the United
10 States army, navy, marine corps, air force or coast guard, or the
11 national guard of the state of New York, no such age restriction shall
12 apply; (b) of good moral character, which, for the purposes of this
13 article, shall mean having the essential character, temperament and
14 judgement necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only in
15 a manner that does not endanger oneself or others; (c) who has not been
16 convicted anywhere of a felony or a serious offense or who is not the
17 subject of an outstanding warrant of arrest issued upon the alleged
18 commission of a felony or serious offense; (d) who is not a fugitive
19 from justice; (e) who is not an unlawful user of or addicted to any
20 controlled substance as defined in section 21 U.S.C. 802; (f) who being
21 a noncitizen (i) is not illegally or unlawfully in the United States or
22 (ii) has not been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant
23 visa subject to the exception in 18 U.S.C. 922(y)(2); (g) who has not
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09507-01-3
A. 7873 2
1 been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions; (h)
2 who, having been a citizen of the United States, has not renounced his
3 or her citizenship; (i) who has stated whether he or she has ever
4 suffered any mental illness; (j) who has not been involuntarily commit-
5 ted to a facility under the jurisdiction of an office of the department
6 of mental hygiene pursuant to article nine or fifteen of the mental
7 hygiene law, article seven hundred thirty or section 330.20 of the crim-
8 inal procedure law or substantially similar laws of any other state,
9 section four hundred two or five hundred eight of the correction law,
10 section 322.2 or 353.4 of the family court act, has not been civilly
11 confined in a secure treatment facility pursuant to article ten of the
12 mental hygiene law, or has not been the subject of a report made pursu-
13 ant to section 9.46 of the mental hygiene law; (k) who has not had a
14 license revoked or who is not under a suspension or ineligibility order
15 issued pursuant to the provisions of section 530.14 of the criminal
16 procedure law or section eight hundred forty-two-a of the family court
17 act; (l) in the county of Westchester, who has successfully completed a
18 firearms safety course and test as evidenced by a certificate of
19 completion issued in his or her name and endorsed and affirmed under the
20 penalties of perjury by a duly authorized instructor, except that: (i)
21 persons who are honorably discharged from the United States army, navy,
22 marine corps or coast guard, or of the national guard of the state of
23 New York, and produce evidence of official qualification in firearms
24 during the term of service are not required to have completed those
25 hours of a firearms safety course pertaining to the safe use, carrying,
26 possession, maintenance and storage of a firearm; (ii) persons who were
27 licensed to possess a pistol or revolver prior to the effective date of
28 this paragraph are not required to have completed a firearms safety
29 course and test, provided, however, persons with a license issued under
30 paragraph (f) of subdivision two of this section prior to the effective
31 date of the laws of two thousand twenty-two which amended this paragraph
32 shall be required to complete the training required by subdivision nine-
33 teen of this section prior to the recertification of such license; and
34 (iii) persons applying for a license under paragraph (f) of subdivision
35 two of this section on or after the effective date of the chapter of the
36 laws of two thousand twenty-two which amended this paragraph who shall
37 be required to complete the training required under subdivision nineteen
38 of this section for such license; (m) who has not had a guardian
39 appointed for him or her pursuant to any provision of state law, based
40 on a determination that as a result of marked subnormal intelligence,
41 mental illness, incompetency, incapacity, condition or disease, he or
42 she lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his or her own
43 affairs; (n) who is not named on the No Fly List maintained by the
44 Terrorist Screening Center administrered by the Federal Bureau of Inves-
45 tigation; (o) for a license issued under paragraph (f) of subdivision
46 two of this section, that the applicant has not been convicted within
47 five years of the date of the application of any of the following: (i)
48 assault in the third degree, as defined in section 120.00 of this chap-
49 ter; (ii) misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, as defined in section
50 eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and traffic law; or (iii)
51 menacing, as defined in section 120.15 of this chapter; and [(o)] (p)
52 for a license issued under paragraph (f) of subdivision two of this
53 section, the applicant shall meet in person with the licensing officer
54 for an interview and shall, in addition to any other information or
55 forms required by the license application submit to the licensing offi-
56 cer the following information: (i) names and contact information for the
A. 7873 3
1 applicant's current spouse, or domestic partner, any other adults resid-
2 ing in the applicant's home, including any adult children of the appli-
3 cant, and whether or not there are minors residing, full time or part
4 time, in the applicant's home; (ii) names and contact information of no
5 less than four character references who can attest to the applicant's
6 good moral character and that such applicant has not engaged in any
7 acts, or made any statements that suggest they are likely to engage in
8 conduct that would result in harm to themselves or others; (iii) certif-
9 ication of completion of the training required in subdivision nineteen
10 of this section; (iv) a list of former and current social media accounts
11 of the applicant from the past three years to confirm the information
12 regarding the applicants character and conduct as required in subpara-
13 graph (ii) of this paragraph; and (v) such other information required by
14 the licensing officer that is reasonably necessary and related to the
15 review of the licensing application.
16 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 400.00 of the penal law, as amended by
17 chapter 371 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
18 4. Investigation. Before a license is issued or renewed, there shall
19 be an investigation of all statements required in the application by the
20 duly constituted police authorities of the locality where such applica-
21 tion is made, including but not limited to such records as may be acces-
22 sible to the division of state police or division of criminal justice
23 services pursuant to section 400.02 of this article. For that purpose,
24 the records of the appropriate office of the department of mental
25 hygiene concerning previous or present mental illness of the applicant
26 shall be available for inspection by the investigating officer of the
27 police authority. Where the applicant is domiciled in a foreign state,
28 the investigation shall include inquiry of the foreign state for records
29 concerning the previous or present mental illness of the applicant, and,
30 to the extent necessary for inspection by the investigating officer, the
31 applicant shall execute a waiver of confidentiality of such record in
32 such form as may be required by the foreign state. In order to ascertain
33 any previous criminal record, the investigating officer shall take the
34 fingerprints and physical descriptive data in quadruplicate of each
35 individual by whom the application is signed and verified. Two copies of
36 such fingerprints shall be taken on standard fingerprint cards eight
37 inches square, and one copy may be taken on a card supplied for that
38 purpose by the federal bureau of investigation; provided, however, that
39 in the case of a corporate applicant that has already been issued a
40 dealer in firearms license and seeks to operate a firearm dealership at
41 a second or subsequent location, the original fingerprints on file may
42 be used to ascertain any criminal record in the second or subsequent
43 application unless any of the corporate officers have changed since the
44 prior application, in which case the new corporate officer shall comply
45 with procedures governing an initial application for such license. When
46 completed, one standard card shall be forwarded to and retained by the
47 division of criminal justice services in the executive department, at
48 Albany. A search of the files of such division and written notification
49 of the results of the search shall be forwarded to the investigating
50 officer and shall be made without unnecessary delay. Thereafter, such
51 division shall notify the licensing officer and the executive depart-
52 ment, division of state police, Albany, of any criminal record of the
53 applicant filed therein subsequent to the search of its files. A second
54 standard card, or the one supplied by the federal bureau of investi-
55 gation, as the case may be, shall be forwarded to that bureau at Wash-
56 ington with a request that the files of the bureau be searched and
A. 7873 4
1 notification of the results of the search be made to the investigating
2 police authority, including the No Fly List maintained by the Terrorist
3 Screening Center. Of the remaining two fingerprint cards, one shall be
4 filed with the executive department, division of state police, Albany,
5 within ten days after issuance of the license, and the other shall
6 remain on file with the investigating police authority. No such finger-
7 prints may be inspected by any person other than a peace officer, who is
8 acting pursuant to his or her special duties, or a police officer,
9 except on order of a judge or justice of a court of record either upon
10 notice to the licensee or without notice, as the judge or justice may
11 deem appropriate. Upon completion of the investigation, the police
12 authority shall report the results to the licensing officer without
13 unnecessary delay.
14 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
