Everything You Need To Know About New Gun Control in New York

New York lawmakers are considering ten bills that lawmakers believe will tighten New York State's gun laws.

On Tuesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul confirmed ten bills were introduced in the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly.

"Within the last month, two horrific mass shootings in Buffalo and in Texas have rattled this nation to our core and shed a new light on the urgent need for action to prevent future tragedies," Hochul stated. "New Yorkers deserve to feel safe in schools, in grocery stores, in movie theaters, in shopping malls, and on our streets -- and we must do everything in our power to protect them."

Hochul notes New York has some of the nation's toughest gun laws but she vows to make them even stronger.

"New York already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country but clearly we need to make them even stronger" Hochul added. "We will strengthen our gun laws, help keep New Yorkers safe, give law enforcement the tools they need to prevent crime, and stop the spread of dangerous weapons. As New York once again leads, we continue to urge the federal government to seize this opportunity and pass meaningful national gun violence prevention laws."

Hochul was joined by Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Carl Heastie in announcing the bills.

"Just 10 days separated the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde that took the lives of 31 people. Nowhere else in the world is this happening. We are in desperate need of a conversation about guns, but we are also in desperate need of action." Speaker Carl Heastie said. "Here in New York, we are ready to act.

Lawmakers believe these bills will "close loopholes and directly address the gaps in our laws exposed by the horrific shootings in Buffalo, Texas, and around the country."

The gun control package includes:

• Require a person to obtain a license before buying a semiautomatic rifle
• Expand definition of a firearm to "include any weapon not defined in the Penal Law that is designed or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by action of an explosive."
• Raise Age To Purchase a semiautomatic rifle from 18 to 21
• Make threatening mass harm a crime in New York
• Require micro-stamping for new guns
• New York Law enforcement must report seized or recovered guns into the criminal gun clearinghouse
• Eliminate the grandfathering of large capacity ammunition feeding devices
• Increase accountability for social media platforms
• Create a new Social Media and Violent Extremism Task Force
• Expand on Extreme Risk Protection Order petition

"These weapons have made places in our communities like schools, grocery stores, houses of worship, and concerts, places of carnage. In these devastating times in New York and across the nation, we have worked with Governor Hochul, Speaker Heastie, and members of the Democratic Legislature to step up and send a message that this path of gun violence is unacceptable and we need real change," Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins said.

Lawmakers are expected to vote on these measures by Thursday.