Photo courtesy of NY Senate via Flickr
State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34) introduced legislation S9481 on Tuesday, June 28, to allow a private right of action against individuals, firms, corporations, or associations who manufacture, distribute, or sell semi-automatic rifles, including AR-15 style semi automatic rifles, in New York State. New Yorkers will be legally permitted to bring cases against those who allow semi-automatic rifles to enter New York communities with deadly consequences.
Biaggi, who represents parts of The Bronx and Westchester counties, and who is currently running for Congress in New York’s 17th congressional, issued the following statement following the bill’s introduction. “Our nation’s deadliest shootings, including both Buffalo and Uvalde all possess a common denominator –– the use of an AR-15. If we are to take bold and transformative action to tackle our gun violence epidemic head on, then we must do something to limit the sale and distribution of these deadly weapons.”
The senator, who has recently been endorsed by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), among others, and who is running against Democratic candidate, Sen. Sean Patrick Maloney, said she was proud to introduce the bill. “After witnessing how other states, like California, faced legal challenges when attempting to regulate semi-automatic weapons, this legislation offers an alternative approach to tackle the issue,” she said.
According to the senator, semi-automatic rifles, including AR-15s, are currently legal under New York State law, despite their innately lethal characteristics. “Bullets fired from an AR-15 are shot with exceeding velocity, escalating typically sustainable injuries into immediate fatalities,” she said. “These dangerous weapons have absolutely no place in our communities, and we must utilize every tool at our disposal to get them off our streets.”
The move comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul called state elected leaders to reconvene in Albany, as reported, after the end of the legislative year had ended and following the announcement last week that the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) voted to strike down a New York gun-control law that required individuals to show “proper cause” to get a license to carry a concealed handgun outside the home. (The same week, SCOTUS also voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade, legislation which protected the right to choose to have an abortion, as reported.)
Those who oppose any restriction on 2nd amendment rights to keep and bear arms have been heavily criticized for not acknowledging that at the time the amendment was passed, semi-automatic weapons were not available, a point alluded to by the governor in the wake of the SCOTUS announcement, as reported.
Referring to the day SCOTUS made the announcement to strike down the New York gun law as a dark day in the country’s history, Hochul asked, “We’re supposed to go back to what was in place since 1788 when the Constitution of United States America was ratified? And I would like to point out to the Supreme Court justices that the only weapons at that time were muskets. I’m prepared to go back to muskets. I don’t think they envision the high capacity assault weapon magazines intended for battlefields as being covered from this, but I guess we’re just going to have to disagree.”
Meanwhile, as reported, on June 23, Hochul approved a new law requiring schools to consider installing a silent, panic-alarm system. Approval of what’s known as “Alyssa’s Law” comes in the wake of several mass shootings, which have made many elected officials consider more strict gun safety and school safety laws.
Named after one of the 2018 Parkland shooting victims, New York is the third state to approve Alyssa’s Law, following its approval in New Jersey and Florida in 2019 and 2020, respectively. It has also been submitted for votes in the state legislatures of Arizona, Nebraska, Texas and Virginia, as well as a national version in the U.S. House of Representatives. It passed unanimously in New York.
Norwood News recently reported on a number of alarming gun-related incidents in the vicinity of New York schools. As reported on May 23, New York City Department of Transportation officials confirmed to Norwood News that a new “24/7 Speed Camera Agreement” would expand the hours of operation of cameras in school zones from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., to 24 hours, seven days a week.
DOT officials clarified, however, that this expansion just related to the expansion of the hours of usage of the cameras, and that the department would still only be operating with the same number of cameras, which they said was within a radius of 750 schools zones across the City, employing roughly 2,000 cameras. The camera bills (S.5602B/A.10438) were formally signed into law by Hochul on Friday, June 24.
Prior to this, on June 17, as reported, Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15), who represents large parts of The Bronx, including Norwood, discussed during a townhall the latest draft of the pending federal, bipartisan gun legislation compromise and responded to questions regarding funding for cameras outside public schools (and potentially funding for the installation of metal detectors in schools where they may be needed).
To date, this year, according to NYPD records, there have been 206 shooting incidents in The Bronx and 239 shooting victims. June marks gun violence awareness month, and was kicked off in The Bronx with a 5K Run Walk Roll organized by the Bronx District Attorney’s office on June 4. A number of other events have also been held all across the borough to raise awareness about gun violence, including locally, where youth and children from Mosholu Montefiore Community Center in Norwood participated in a rally along East Gun Hill Road on June 3.
Some young people shared their reasons for marching. “We walk because we care about what is happening in my community,” said Jamar Benard, while Javon Humphrey said, “These shootings are scary; we can’t go to the park or walk to the store.” Another youth named Wassir said, “Gun violence impacts us all, not just adults or kids, but the entire community. We need stricter gun control.”
Last month in the wake of the mass shootings in Buffalo, NY and in Ulvade, TX, other protests took place, including locally in Norwood, when on Thursday, May 26, a few dozen 5th Grade students at Bronx Community Charter School, located at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood walked out of their school and stood across the street along Webster Avenue and East 205th Street in protest at the killings.
Local Bronxites also weighed in on the topic earlier this month as part of our regular Inquiring Photographer feature. Other measures to combat gun violence, including curbing the sale of ghost guns, were discussed during a visit to New York City by U.S. President Joe Biden in February.
Earlier this year, Mayor Eric Adams also introduced his blueprint to end gun violence in the City in the wake of several tragic gun related incidents, including the non fatal shooting of a then 11-month-old baby girl in Bedford Park. He later attended the relaunch of the Saturday Night Lights program which is focused on keeping youth occupied on Saturday nights, and away from violent street activity.
Meanwhile, Biaggi concluded her statement on the new bill, saying, “The California Assembly recently passed similar legislation targeting assault weapons through a private right of action, and I sincerely hope that New York will follow suit in enacting progressive, impactful action against gun violence.”
Also, on June 28 [Primary Election Day in New York], the NY Daily News reported that an 8-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed a 1-year-old baby girl, along with another 2-year-old in a Florida motel room on Sunday, June 26.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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Did ANYONE tell her to read Heller v. D.C. before she introduced this? Cuz, it blatantly goes against it. It literally says in the opinion, that modern commonly in use firearms for lawful use, are protected. 42+million are in common use for lawful purposes.
Once upon a time they’re were other tyrants who wanted to take our guns too. It didn’t work out so well for them, nor will it for the current tyrants.