When the SAFE Act became law, it emerged as one of the most controversial pieces of legislation on the books in New York.
It also may be among the most confusing.
Thanks to a ruling from a federal judge in Buffalo five years ago, authorities from police to prosecutors differ on how – or even whether – to enforce part of the law. A provision of the law aimed at limiting the number of rounds a person could have in a magazine was declared unconstitutional by two federal courts, most recently in October 2015.
What that means, though, has varying interpretations. And whether you get arrested on the charge could depend on which police agency stops you.
The State Police initially stopped enforcing the seven-round limit after the first court decision, but now say the law is in effect today as written and they are enforcing it. New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, a statewide advocacy organization, believed enforcement of that provision had stopped.
In Erie County, including in Buffalo, people kept getting charged with a crime under that part of the law even though federal judges had struck it down.
There are currently 23 open cases in Erie County in which people have been charged under Penal Law 265.37, which makes it illegal – aside from a couple of exceptions – to possess a 10-round magazine that is loaded with more than seven rounds.
Those defendants will soon see those charges dropped, said Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn.
And in the future, that charge will no longer be prosecuted in the county under his administration, according to Flynn.
And Buffalo police said they will stop arresting people for violating that provision of the law.
It is the latest development in the rocky implementation of the state's strict gun law passed in the wake of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut that killed 26 people, including 20 children.
Rulings from federal courts below the U.S. Supreme Court are not binding on state entities, so the 2013 and 2015 rulings on this part of the SAFE Act amount to mere suggestions, according to Flynn. It is up to individual county district attorneys to decide whether they will abide by the rulings of federal judges, he said.
“I am going to take their ruling and I am going to follow that,” the district attorney said.
The matter came to Flynn’s attention last week after The Buffalo News inquired about the Nov. 7 arrests of four Buffalo men. The four, who were arrested after a traffic stop in Buffalo, were accused of having two, fully loaded 10-round magazines in their vehicle.
It also may be among the most confusing.
Thanks to a ruling from a federal judge in Buffalo five years ago, authorities from police to prosecutors differ on how – or even whether – to enforce part of the law. A provision of the law aimed at limiting the number of rounds a person could have in a magazine was declared unconstitutional by two federal courts, most recently in October 2015.
What that means, though, has varying interpretations. And whether you get arrested on the charge could depend on which police agency stops you.
The State Police initially stopped enforcing the seven-round limit after the first court decision, but now say the law is in effect today as written and they are enforcing it. New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, a statewide advocacy organization, believed enforcement of that provision had stopped.
In Erie County, including in Buffalo, people kept getting charged with a crime under that part of the law even though federal judges had struck it down.
There are currently 23 open cases in Erie County in which people have been charged under Penal Law 265.37, which makes it illegal – aside from a couple of exceptions – to possess a 10-round magazine that is loaded with more than seven rounds.
Those defendants will soon see those charges dropped, said Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn.
And in the future, that charge will no longer be prosecuted in the county under his administration, according to Flynn.
And Buffalo police said they will stop arresting people for violating that provision of the law.
It is the latest development in the rocky implementation of the state's strict gun law passed in the wake of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut that killed 26 people, including 20 children.
Rulings from federal courts below the U.S. Supreme Court are not binding on state entities, so the 2013 and 2015 rulings on this part of the SAFE Act amount to mere suggestions, according to Flynn. It is up to individual county district attorneys to decide whether they will abide by the rulings of federal judges, he said.
“I am going to take their ruling and I am going to follow that,” the district attorney said.
The matter came to Flynn’s attention last week after The Buffalo News inquired about the Nov. 7 arrests of four Buffalo men. The four, who were arrested after a traffic stop in Buffalo, were accused of having two, fully loaded 10-round magazines in their vehicle.
