Age Limit for owning a semiautomatic rifle in New York has been raised
Following the racist shooting at a Buffalo supermarket, New York‘s governor raised the age to purchase a semiautomatic rifle from 18 to 21 on Monday.
Kathy Hochul signed a package of gun reform bills enacted by the state senate in the aftermath of a shooting that murdered ten African-Americans last month.
The proposals come in the wake of a string of horrific shootings in the United States, which have prompted renewed calls for stricter gun laws.
Payton Gendron, 18, is accused of shooting patrons at Tops Friendly Market with a legally purchased AR-15 assault rifle.
Buyers of semiautomatic weapons will now be required to obtain a permit, which will entail undertaking a background check, in addition to being at least 21 years old.
New York, a Democratic state, already has some of the challenging gun prohibitions in the country.
The new laws also make it illegal for most citizens to buy body armor, such as bullet-proof vests.
During his claimed attack on May 14, Gendron, a white supremacist, was wearing heavy body armor.
Hochul also agreed to broaden the state’s “red flag” legislation, which allow judges to take guns away from persons who are judged a danger to themselves or others.
Ten days after the Buffalo massacre, a young gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 students and two instructors.
President Joe Biden of the United States has urged for stricter gun laws, including a ban on assault rifles.
At the very least, Biden has suggested that lawmakers raise the age of purchase of assault weapons from 18 to 21.
However, most Republicans and several Democrats in rural areas in the United States oppose gun control.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, more than 18,000 individuals have died as a result of gun violence in the United States so far in 2022, including roughly 10,300 suicides.
