Too Many Loopholes! Can The New York Guns Laws Really Save Lives?

On Tuesday, New York became the first state to enact gun control measures in wake of the Newtown school massacre after Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the legislation into law. Conservatives and critics claimed that the bill was rushed and would do little to curb gun violence--they may be right.

The New York Post points out that there are several loopholes within the law that would make it easy for mass-murders and would-be criminals to use guns for lethal means. For instance, the Post notes that semi-automatic Benelli MR1 rifles with or without a "pistol grip" are almost identical and obtain the same amount of killing power. Yet, the law only bans the sale of the rifle with a pistol grip because it falls under the classification of being a "miliatry assault feature." The Post explains:

These two Benelli MR1 rifles have equal killing power - yet the one at the top is illegal to buy because of its "military" grip while the other is perfectly fine under the gun law signed by Gov. Cuomo last night.

The law also bans magazines holding more than seven rounds, yet has no provision limiting the number of clips someone can buy.

In addition, the law restricts the purchase of magazines with ten bullets, however it does not limit the amount of clips of ammunition that the someone can buy. In effect, a killer can obtain loads of clips and swap them out in a matter of seconds during a killing spree. According to Jerold E. Levine, a Manhattan lawyer and gun-rights advocate, "A 30-round magazine is no more dangerous than two 15-round magazines, or more dangerous than three 10-round magazines, or more dangerous than six 5-round magazines. It takes only two seconds to change the magazine in a semiautomatic gun."

The law also does nothing to reduce the number of legally-purchased guns that are funneled into New York and sold on the black market. The Post reports:

"The illegal guns coming in from other states are definitely still a problem," said Jackie Hilly, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.

"Eighty-five percent of crime guns in New York City are from sales in other states," Hilly said. Statewide, about 60 percent of guns used in crime are from out of state, she said."

Gov. Cuomo defended the bill's restriction on magazine sizes from 10 bullets to seven stating "the capacity to kill lots of human beings in a short period of time."

The law also places a greater restrictions on assault weapons and a mandate for therapists to report mentally ill patients who threatened to use a gun illegally to the Department of Criminal Justice Services. Other provisions in the bill include banning the sale of assault weapons through the Internet, making the storage of unsafe assault weapons a misdemeanor and charging those who shoot first responders with life in prison without parole.

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