The New York Legislature is set to consider a bill that would vastly expand the state’s current “assault weapons ban.” Here’s some of the, er, highlights:

All firearms must either be rendered inoperative or surrendered to the police. No grandfathering, no exceptions.

Removes the “grandfathering” exception for possession of magazines with a greater than 10 round capacity.

Bumps up AWB-firearm possession from 3rd degree “criminal possession of a weapon” to first degree, putting simple possession of such a firearm at the same level of punishment as Rape 1 or Manslaughter 1.

Oh, and the whole thing is severable. So if one section is ever declared unconstitutional, the rest of it stays. Full text here. There are also two other bills being considered . . .

S202-2013 has one heck of a preamble:

The New York state legislature finds that semi-automatic assault weapons are military-style guns designed to allow rapid and accurate spray firing for the quick and efficient killing of humans. The shooter can simply point – as opposed to carefully aim – the weapon to quickly spray a wide area with a hail of bullets. Gun manufacturers have for many years made, marketed and sold to civilians semi-automatic versions of military assault weapons designed with features specifically intended to increase lethality for military applications. As a result, approximately 2,000,000 assault weapons are currently in circulation in the United States. These weapons have been the weapon of choice in the most notorious mass shootings of innocent civilians in the United States, including the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School (TEC-DC9 assault pistol and Hi-Point Carbine) and the 2002 Washington, D.C.-area sniper shootings (Bushmaster XM15 assault rifle). According to FBI data, between 1998 and 2001, one in five law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty was killed with an assault weapon. In 2003, New York lost two of its finest when undercover officers in the elite Firearms Investigation Unit of the NYPD Organized Crime Control Bureau were brutally murdered while attempting to purchase an illegal TEC-9 semi-automatic assault weapon. The availability of military-style assault weapons poses a serious threat to the public health and safety. Most citizens, including most gun owners, believe that assault weapons should not be available for civilian use.

Note how the figures they pulled about “assault weapon” deaths all took place during the last assault weapons ban, before it went out of effect in 2004? Also note how they illustrate their complete and total lack of understanding of firearms and how they work (“spray” bullets my ass…)? Yeah, that’s the level of misinformation and ignorance that we’re up against.

If they happen to wander by the site (as if), I just wanted to throw these in here for their reading pleasure:

Also, the statement that “Most citizens, including most gun owners, believe that assault weapons should not be available for civilian use” is a bright shining lie. Which we know, thanks to the latest polling data.

The other bill, S805-2013, is simply about registering all firearms. Previously, only handguns were required to be registered, but this widens the field to include all firearms.