Federal court upholds NY SAFE Act

ALBANY - A federal appeals court upheld controversial gun-control laws in New York and Connecticut, but agreed with lower courts that a few provisions exceeded the states' authority.

The decision Monday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that the SAFE Act in New York and laws in Connecticut following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 do not infringe on the Second Amendment, as gun-rights groups contended in their lawsuits.

"We hold that the core provisions of the New York and Connecticut laws prohibiting possession of semiautomatic assault weapons and large-capacity magazines do not violate the Second Amendment, and that the challenged individual provisions are not void for vagueness," the court ruling states.

The court, however, found New York's requirement that only seven bullets can be loaded into a 10-round magazine is unconstitutional, upholding a previous court ruling. In response to the earlier ruling, New York has already agreed to not enforce the seven-bullet limit.

In Connecticut, the court ruled against a provision that prohibits the ownership of a non-semiautomatic Remington 7615.

The judges said that the seven-round limit would be difficult to enforce, citing how most manufacturers do not make guns that only hold seven rounds.

"New York has failed to present evidence that the mere existence of this load limit will convince any would-be malefactors to load magazines capable of holding ten rounds with only the permissible seven," the ruling states.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who championed the SAFE Act, praised the ruling. The SAFE Act was passed by the Legislature in January 2013 and included a series of gun-control policies, such as stronger background checks and new registration requirements for gun owners.

In recent weeks, the Democratic governor has called on Congress to pass tougher gun laws in the wake of mass shootings and after one of his aides was fatally shot in Brooklyn.

"Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld what we have long known to be true — that the core provisions of the NY SAFE Act do not violate the Second Amendment," Cuomo said in a statement. "Today, common sense prevailed."

Gun-rights groups knocked the decision.

"The Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision released Monday on the 'NY UNSAFE Act' is both disappointing and expected given the politicized nature of the issue," Jake Palmateer, who heads the group, NY2A, said in a statement.

The state Rifle & Pistol Association vowed to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Remember we have now reached the beginning of the end of our journey. Let's pull together and finish this fight with another victory," the group said on its website.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who represented New York in the case, hailed the ruling.

"I am very pleased that the court upheld almost every aspect of the law," he said in a statement. "Now that the court has ruled, it is time for everyone involved in the critical debate about how to keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous and unstable people to come together to work toward sensible solutions that will keep our communities safe."

JSPECTOR@Gannett.com

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