Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to close what he sees as a loophole in the state’s already-strongest in the nation gun safety laws. The measure he’s proposing would prevent individuals who commit certain crimes in other states from legally owning a gun here in New York.

Gun Safety advocates are applauding Governor Cuomo for his newest proposed gun law.

Executive Director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence Rebecca Fischer says the law would build upon a successful 2019 in terms passing gun safety laws.

“We know that there’s room for the state law to be strengthened so that it is clear and more streamlined in the event that an out of stater attempts to buy a gun here in New York and the same restriction and standard should apply,” said Fischer

But Fischer says most of New York’s gun problems come from other states. She says 70 percent of crime guns don’t originate in New York.

“That is one of the primary reason why we need standardized stronger federal law to regulate guns flowing from state to state. We need to continue to pressure other state to strengthen their gun laws as well and as far as New York goes, we need to do everything that we can to ensure that New Yorkers are remaining safe,” said Fischer

WAER's Chris Bolt reports on reactions from a gun safety advocate to a proposal to deny gun ownership to people that have committed certain serious crimes.

The governor’s proposal is expected to be part of his State of the State Address next month, and could end up in the state budget process. The plan would make sure peopel from out of state follow provisions in place that restrict gun ownership for New Yorkers.

"In New York, serious misdemeanors which disqualify individuals from gun ownership include certain domestic violence misdemeanors, forcible touching and other misdemeanor sex offenses, and unlicensed possession of a firearm. In establishing a separate, statutory directive that a person cannot be licensed if they have been convicted of a similar crime in another state, it will authorize licensing entities upon application for a pistol permit to search for such crimes and deny licenses for those with qualifying out of state offenses, and additionally, will prevent renewal if an intervening conviction occurs. Further, each time a purchase is made, a Federal NICS check is completed, which searches for relevant criminal history and will also provide another check on these serious crimes," the Governor's Administration said in a release.

In 2019, the state enacted comprehensive legislation to extend the background check waiting period, ban undetectable guns, and create a red flag procedure enabling people to seek a temporary order to remove guns from individuals deemed to pose a risk to themselves or others.