Seward joins call for SAFE Act reform

3/7/2017

State Senator Jim Seward joined lawmakers and gun rights advocates in Albany last Wednesday to unveil legislation that would repeal portions of the NY-SAFE Act.
The proposed changes would exempt the five boroughs of New York City from what the lawmakers are calling "several onerous measures of gun control," but the reforms would apply to Long Island as well as upstate New York.
Lawmakers are now calling on both houses of the state legislature to act on the reforms.
"The NY-SAFE Act tramples on our Second Amendment rights and has failed to make us safer," said Senator Seward.
"The entire package is an attack on responsible gun owners who meticulously follow the law-rather than ignore it like the criminal element. I have consistently called for full repeal [of it] and passed legislation in the Senate to reform several onerous portions..."
The legislators pointed to the regional difference between New York City and the rest of the state, noting that what makes sense in New York City is an unnecessary burden on gunowners and sportsmen elsewhere in the state.
The proposed bill would keep the SAFE Act as-is in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island.
However, it would reverse elements of the SAFE Act, including gun licensing re-certification requirements, storage mandates, firearms seizures and registries, and information collected on gun owners.
Specifically, some of the measures include:
--Repealing the five-year re-certification requirement for pistol permits.
--Fully repealing the ammunition database.
--Repealing the statewide License and Record Database that has not yet been implemented.
--Authorizing the transfer of firearms, rifles, and shotguns to family members as part of an estate.
The bill was introduced in January, when Schoharie County supervisors also reaffirmed their opposition of the SAFE Act at Sheriff Tony Desmond's urging. [This is a correction.]