Thanks to a FOIA and a lawsuit that followed when law enforcement refused the FOIA request, we now know how many rifles have been registered in New York. The registration tally comes on the heels of the “SAFE Act” legislation passed by NY lawmakers.
According to registration totals to date, there are around 45,000 rifles now registered in the state. That said, estimates suggest there may be up to 1,000,000 rifles owned in the state. All of which are the type required to be registered.
One of the highlights of the SAFE, or Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act is a ban on ”assault-style” weapons, which are defined as having military-type features such as a pistol grip or flash suppressor.
Weapons such as civilian versions of the M16 military rifle, or the Soviet-designed AK47 are popular examples of the guns banned under the law.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed the bill though at the start of 2013, just weeks after the Newtown, Conn. school massacre.People who already owned assault style weapons, though, were grandfathered but they were supposed to register them with the State Police in April 2014.
Critics believed that was an intrusion into their privacy, and as the logistics of tracking the registration became clear, many predicted that only a handful of people would actually register their guns.Capanna said that appears to be the case, with fewer than 45,000 weapons being registered.
While there is no firm count, observers have estimated there could be hundreds of thousands or even a million assault-style weapons in New York.
Looks like NY gun owners are pretty much telling the state to shove it when it comes to gun registration.
