Hoping to curb the number of illegal handguns in the city, the Assembly and Senate have reached an agreement on legislation which will require a mandatory, no-parole prison term of 3.5 years for anyone charged with possession of a loaded firearm.
Additionally, the city is trying to elevate the possession of a single illegal loaded firearm to a Class C Felony by removing the requirement of intent to use the gun. Under current law, an individual must possess five or more illegal handguns or have the intent to use a single loaded firearm to face a Class C felony charge.
Currently, a person charged with possession of a loaded firearm may be sentenced to local jail time or straight probation and be right back on the street, according to Assemblyman William Scarborough.
By elevating the penalty for possession of an illegal firearm and ensuring those found guilty face prison time instead of probation, Scarborough believes this legislation takes an important step toward ridding New York’s streets of illegal guns.
“This bill eliminates some of the loopholes in our gun possession laws, making it easier to prosecute gun crimes and put offenders behind bars.”
Statistics show that there are 2 million unregistered handguns in the city and 96 percent of illegal guns recovered in the city originated out-of-state.
Approximately 60 percent of the homicides that occur in the five boroughs are committed with guns.
Loaded gun will send you to jail
By Toni Cimino
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