William J. Fitzpatrick.JPG

Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick said today a ruling from a federal judge in Western New York does not change the NY Safe Act for other areas of the state -- including Central New York.

(Mike Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y. - A federal judge's ruling this week striking down New York's seven-bullet maximum does not change the current law statewide, according to Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick.

On Tuesday, federal Judge William Skretny in Buffalo struck down a provision of the NY Safe Act restricting gun owners from loading more than seven bullets in 10-round magazines.

That ruling, however, only covers the Western District of New York - an area that includes Buffalo and Rochester but not Syracuse. That means the ruling is not binding in the rest of the state, Fitzpatrick said.

That could change if the state appeals the decision and the 2nd Circuit Court rules on the matter. But that could be months away, Fitzpatrick added.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will decide whether New York appeals the bullet ruling; his office had no comment today on whether he will appeal.

Until then, Fitzpatrick's advice for those outside of Western New York is to abide by the Safe Act as written and adhere to the seven-bullet limit.

"My advice would be to continue to follow the law as written unless you want to get involved in a lengthy challenge," he said.

Contact Teri Weaver at tweaver@syracuse.com, 315-470-2274 or on Twitter at @TeriKWeaver.