New York State Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a package of laws that set a number of restrictions on access to weapons. Among these, the minimum age for buying or owning an assault rifle is raised from 18 to 21. «This – commented the governor – is an important moment from a moral point of view for New York but also for the rest of the country. Following what happened here, we have decided to start putting an end to all this violence with weapons and the massacres that take place every day in our country ». The reference is to last month’s massacre in Buffalo, in the north of the state, where an 18-year-old boy, armed with an AR-15, a war rifle, killed ten African Americans in a supermarket.
New York is in fact the first US state to hear the appeal of President Biden, who in recent days had asked for more restrictions.
Among the innovations envisaged by the reform, the ban on the sale of bulletproof vests, the request for a license for the purchase of assault rifles, a tightening of controls to report cases at risk and make even the threat of attack a crime. The so-called “red flag”, ie reporting, can allow courts to temporarily seize weapons from people who could pose a threat to others or to themselves.