ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo said yesterday that New York needs an assault-weapons ban, not just the increased penalties for illegal gun possession that Republicans back.
A plan from state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-LI) that includes tougher prison sentences for illegal gun possession, using them for crimes or taking them on school property doesn’t go “far enough,” Cuomo said, in the wake of last month’s Newtown, Conn., elementary-school massacre of 26 people.
“It misses the mark, pardon the pun, a plan that doesn’t ban assault weapons, with what we’ve seen,” Cuomo said.
Asked for his definition of an assault weapon, Cuomo said, “Rifle with high-capacity magazine” and the characteristics of an assault weapon.
New York already bans assault weapons defined as semiautomatic guns that can accept detachable magazines and have military-style features like pistol grips, flash suppressors and bayonet mounts. Cuomo has described that ban as having “significant loopholes.”
Skelos’ proposal focused on illegal guns, which, he says, are the ones mostly used in crimes in New York. He also wants to strengthen Kendra’s Law, for longer court-ordered mental-health stays for individuals deemed to be safety threats.