SAFE Act Revisited
The New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013 is commonly known as the SAFE Act. It has been twelve years since it became law. (Did you miss the anniversary on January 15th?) Perhaps you have forgotten about its provisions which, at that time, caused tremendous controversy – and in many cases, still do.
The SAFE Act passed under the "message of necessity" procedure, a device in the New York State Constitution by which the governor may expedite a vote on a bill, bypassing a usual three-day waiting period. (It was signed into law on the 2nd day of the new legislative session.) The "message of necessity" procedure was intended for emergencies.
The New York State Senate approved the act on a 43–18 vote on January 14, 2013. The following day, the New York State Assembly approved the legislation by a 104–43 vote, and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law less than one hour later.
Some of its provisions are:
(1)The Act broadened the legal definition of assault weapon to include those semi-automatic rifles, semi-automatic handguns, and semi-automatic shotguns which have one or more features listed in the footnote at the end of this article**. This "one-feature test" was a change from the previous "two-feature test," enacted in New York in 2000, which barred such weapons if they had two or more of the enumerated features.
A "grandfathering" provision allowing those with an assault weapon (under the newer, broader definition), to keep the weapon, but required that it be registered with the New York State Police. The constitutionality of the assault-weapon prohibition was upheld by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny in 2013, and this ruling was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2015.
(2) Beginning on April 15, 2013, only magazines with a capacity of seven rounds could legally be sold in New York
The Act allowed the continued possession of ten-round magazines purchased before that date, but made it illegal to load more than seven rounds of ammunition into a ten-round magazine.
The magazine provisions were struck down by Judge Skretny in 2013 and this ruling was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2015, allowing New York gun owners to "legally load 10 rounds in a 10-round magazine."
New York had a pre-existing ten-round magazine limit which remained in effect.
(3) The Act required ammunition dealers to conduct background for direct or internet ammunition purchases. Online buyers are required to purchase ammunition through a licensed dealer in the state and obtain the ammunition in person. The fly-in-the-ointment was that no system existed to do this in 2013. This provision was enacted in 2024.
(3) New York’s Mental Hygiene Law was amended as of March 16, 2013, to add a new reporting requirement for mental health professionals (physicians, psychologists, registered nurses and licensed clinical social workers).
Mental health professionals providing treatment services to an individual must make a report to authorities, "if they conclude, using reasonable professional judgment, that the individual is likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to self or others."
The reports (an MHL 9.46 report) are sent to county officials, and if they agree with the assessments, the officials then input the names into the state database where it is retained for five years.
If the person in the database has a gun permit, the license is revoked and gun(s) are seized. The people in the database are barred from obtaining a permit until their names are purged."
Under the health privacy law, HIPAA, because these informational disclosures are required by law, they can be made without the patient's consent. So, HIPAA protects you from private citizens but not the government.
(4) Owners must report lost or stolen guns and ammunition to authorities. It is a misdemeanor to fail to report such a loss or theft within 24 hours.
(5) All sellers or other transferors of firearms and ammunition must conduct a NICS check (National Instant Criminal Background Check) of the prospective purchaser or other transferees, in "all sales, exchanges or disposals of firearms, rifles or shotguns" or ammunition, except those between immediate family members, provided that the transferring family member does not know that the transferee "is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm."
The Act requires that a prospective firearm transferor and transferee process the sale via an FFL, but "does not mandate that FFLs play this processing role." An FFL, who does elect to provide the service, may not charge the parties more than $10 per transaction.
(6) Gun owners living with a household member "who has been convicted of a felony or domestic violence crime, has been involuntarily committed, or is currently under an order of protection" must "safely store" any guns, using "an appropriate locking device including a trigger lock, a gun safe, or a secure gun cabinet." Failure to do so was made a misdemeanor.
(7) Holders of handgun permits must re-certify every five years. In 2022, this was changed to every three years for Concealed Carry (unrestricted) Permits.
(8) Holders of handgun permit may "request that their application information be made exempt from disclosure under state Freedom of Information Law."
(9) The Act amended New York Penal Law to establish "tougher penalties for those who use illegal guns as well as measures to help combat gang violence."
(10) The SAFE Act contains a severability provision that allows other measures to remain in place in case the broad prohibitions against weapons are invalidated by the courts.
** A pistol is considered an assault weapon if it is semi-automatic, has a detachable magazine, and at least one of:
- a folding or telescoping stock;
- a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;
- the capacity to accept an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip;
- a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer;
- a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the non-trigger hand without being burned;
- a manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded, or
- a semiautomatic version of an automatic rifle, shotgun or firearm.
- a folding or telescoping stock;
- a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon;
- a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;
- a threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor, muzzle brake, or muzzle compensator; and
- a folding or telescoping stock;
- a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;
- a fixed magazine capacity in excess of seven rounds; or
- an ability to accept a detachable magazine.
A rifle is considered an “assault weapon” if it is semi-automatic, has a detachable magazine, and at least one of:
A shotgun is considered an “assault weapon” if it has at least one of:
- a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;
- a fixed magazine capacity in excess of seven rounds; or
- an ability to accept a detachable magazine.
