Gov. Hochul set to unveil new proposed gun safety laws in aftermath of Buffalo shooting

Gov. Kathy Hochul is planning to introduce new gun safety legislation meant to close loopholes in New York's laws.

News 12 Staff

May 17, 2022, 2:43 AM

Updated 708 days ago

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Gov. Kathy Hochul is planning to introduce new gun safety legislation meant to close loopholes in New York's laws.
The governor had proposed the announcement ahead of Saturday's mass shooting in Buffalo, but the most recent incident has made it even more urgent.
The suspected gunman was able to get an AR-15 style rifle that was illegally modified with a high-capacity magazine even though officials say he made a violent statement at his school before the shooting took place.
Linda Beigel Schulman, who lost her soon in a mass shooting in Florida, has been fighting for New York's red flag laws aimed at preventing potentially dangerous people from owning firearms.
The Buffalo supermarket shooter bought his gun legally after being interviewed by police for making a reference to murder-suicide in a school project.
Beigel Schulman said the shooter stayed at a facility for a day and a half.
"Someone dropped the ball," Beigel Schulman says. "He was the perfect, perfect example of being red flagged. And he was not."
Hochul's proposed new legislation would close loopholes in New York, but she says the Buffalo shooter had a high-capacity magazine that was legal in Pennsylvania, which is just a few miles from where he lived.
"Other states do not have the same laws we have and people are just crossing the borders," Hochul says.
Andy Chernoff, of Coliseum Gun Traders in Uniondale, officials should figure out why the red flag law didn't stop this shooting before proposing new legislation.
"I'm not sure what loopholes she's going to close up because every time there's another gun law made, everybody says 'This is the best, this is the great, this is going to end all the problems,'" Chernoff says.
Hochul's office has not yet released information on her proposed legislation.
Over the weekend, the governor did talk about being prepared for a Supreme Court decision that could allow people to carry concealed weapons.
Beigel Schulman has been invited to attend the governor's announcement and plans to be there.


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