New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is looking to shift one of the gun control measures passed by the state in the wake of the Newtown school shootings, specifically the limit on the size of gun magazines.
The New York Times reports that after pressure from gun owners, Cuomo wants to amend the law:
The gun-control law, approved in January, banned the sale of magazines that hold more than seven rounds of ammunition. But, Mr. Cuomo said Wednesday, seven-round magazines are not widely manufactured. And, although the new gun law provided an exemption for the use of 10-round magazines at firing ranges and competitions, it did not provide a legal way for gun owners to purchase such magazines.
As a result, he said, he and legislative leaders were negotiating language that would continue to allow the sale of magazines holding up to 10 rounds, but still forbid New Yorkers from loading more than 7 rounds into those magazines.
“There is no such thing as a seven-bullet magazine,” he said. “That doesn’t exist. So you really have no practical option.”
“It’s a change to accommodate commerce, basically. They’re not being made in sevens,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the Buffalo News reports.
When Cuomo initially passed the law, he did so under a “message of necessity,” which allowed him to get around the usual three-day period for review of legislation. That might explain why the Legislature missed the "practical" considerations in the original version.
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