ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York will allow people to carry firearms into many places of business only if the owners put up a sign saying guns are welcome, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday, describing a deal with state legislative leaders that is being finalized.
Hochul said lawmakers have agreed on the broad strokes of a gun control bill that the Democratic-led Legislature is poised to pass Thursday.
The legislation — hurriedly finalized after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state's handgun licensing law — will include provisions that make it harder to qualify for a permit to carry a gun outside the home, require 15 hours of in-person fire range training, and create more rules around firearm storage in homes and vehicles.
Hochul and the fellow Democrats who control the Legislature also plan on creating a comprehensive list of “sensitive places” where the average citizen will be banned entirely from carrying firearms, including government buildings, hospitals, schools and public transit.
A handful of states, including New York and California, are considering similar steps to tighten the new gun control measures as they attempt to get a handle on the Supreme Court ruling.
New York would be the first state to pass a law to allow concealed weapons only in businesses that explicitly allow it, according to David Pucino, deputy chief counsel for Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
New York's legislation is built on tradition and historical precedent in states including Louisiana and South Carolina, which require people to get permission to bring firearms into private dwellings, Pucino said.
“The state is responding in a very strong way to address the new risks created by the court, but in a way that fits into the framework the court has put forward about what a constitutional set of gun laws look like,” Pucino said.
Businesses that want to allow guns would have to put up a sign reading: “Concealed weapons welcome here," or words to that effect, Hochul said. “Otherwise the presumption will be in the state of New York that they are not.”
Hochul said she also wanted to protect the rights of property owners, including the proprietors of bars and restaurants, who decide they don’t want firearms on the premises.
The plan has bristled leaders of gun rights groups.
“She’s telling business owners how they need to conduct their business if they want to stay open," Aaron Dorr, the executive director of NY State Firearms Association, said. "These are unconstitutional mandates, and I think it’ll be struck down by the courts."
The push to pass new restrictions follows the Supreme Court's decision striking down New York's century-old licensing law, which required people to show an unusual threat to their safety to carry a handgun outside their home.
The state's handgun permitting system is still in effect for now, but it is likely to lead to many more New Yorkers getting permits that allow them to carry a concealed handgun for personal defense.
“We are going to be facing a wave of concealed weapons in our parks, our subways, gathering places,” Hochul said.
Hochul said she is working with lawmakers to hammer out specifics, including on her proposal to bar people with a history of dangerous behavior from getting permits.
She said the legislation will stand up in court. The Supreme Court ruling said states could ban firearms in particular locations but warned that it would likely be unconstitutional to simply ban guns in all densely populated areas.
Lawmakers will also require background checks for all purchases of ammunition for guns that require a permit, Hochul said. “You’ll have to show that permit at the time of purchase,” she said.
New York and California both have laws requiring background checks for ammunition purchases, according to Giffords. Four states, including New Jersey, require background checks and permits to buy certain ammunition.
A 2013 state law required background checks for ammunition purchases once the state set up a database. But legislative leaders and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed in 2015 to halt work on that database.
“No criminal is going to walk into a retail store to purchase ammunition,” Dorr said. “This is an absurd attempt to demonize law abiding gun owners one more time.”
__
Maysoon Khan contributed reporting from Albany, N.Y. Khan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Maysoon Khan on Twitter.