ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Starting September 4, you must be 21 or older to buy a semi-automatic rifle and must have a semi-automatic license to do so. However, if you are under 21 and already have this type of gun, you can keep it without getting a license.
“Coming up to this, we’ve seen incredible sales,” said Craig Serafini, Owner of Upstate Guns and Ammo. “So many people coming in and purchasing because they don’t want to have to get a permit later. They don’t want to go through the hassles or they are just afraid that their rights are getting trampled on and they don’t want to have to lose that right.”
This new law is in direct response to the Buffalo Supermarket Massacre where police say an 18-year-old gunman used a legally obtained semi-automatic gun.
“There is no one immune from the pain of gun violence,” stated Governor Kathy Hochul in a press conference on Wednesday. “Whether it’s the day to day gun violence, that plagues cities, plagues individuals, plagues families from here to Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, or the mass shooting that occurred in Buffalo on May 14th. When an 18 year-old with nothing but pure hate in his heart took the lives of 10 black New Yorkers who were doing nothing more than shopping at a grocery store.”
Despite this new law set to go into effect, not everyone agrees with the changes.
“Our men and women are able to go to war, and fight for our country at age 18 and they are deemed to be adults,” said Serafini. “In that regard, I don’t see why someone needs to be 21 to purchase a firearm.”
Back in May, the Governor also signed an executive order to strengthen red flag laws to prevent a person who shows signs of being a threat to themselves or others from buying or having a firearm.