N.Y.'s SAFE Act, Connecticut gun-control law trigger controversy - Albany Times Union
News last week that 44,485 assault-style weapons have been registered in a new State Police database brought a variety of responses. Opponents of the 2013 Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act said the number was proof of a widespread boycott of the law, given initial estimates that hundreds of thousands of such weapons, maybe even a million, are owned in the state. "The people of New York state who have been calling for a repeal (of the SAFE Act) have decided to repeal it on their own by not complying," remarked Tom King , president of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association. For comparison, people could point to neighboring Connecticut, where a similar ban passed after the SAFE Act has resulted in the registration of 50,016 assault weapons. But with 3. 6 million residents, Connecticut's population is a fraction of New York's 19. 5 million. The assault-style weapons bans in New York and Connecticut have many similarities. And in both states, lawmakers decided to ban assault-style weapons while allowing those who already owned such guns to keep them — as long as the weapons were registered. New York's law came first after being rushed through the state Legislature by Cuomo a month after the Newtown tragedy. Source: www.timesunion.com
