New York passes bill barring anyone under 21 to buy or own semi-automatic guns

In the wake of a series of mass shootings, the New York State Legislature has passed a bill raising the age to buy or own semi-automatic guns in a major change to state firearm laws.

Under the proposed legislation, anyone under the age of 21 has been barred from purchasing/owning semi-automatic rifles in New York state.

The bill passed on Thursday also requires a prospective buyer to get a license, which is currently only required in New York State for handguns.

The series of measures were taken days after an 18-year-old used one of the guns to kill 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo.

Apart from that, the proposed law seeks to restrict civilians from purchasing bullet-resistant armour, which was worn by the killer in Buffalo, and require new guns to be equipped with microstamping technology that can help law enforcement investigators trace bullets to particular firearms.

The age limit bill passed the Senate along party lines, 43-20, and in the Assembly 102-47, and will now head to Governor Kathy Hochul for her signature. According to reports, she is poised to sign off the new bill.

However, many Republicans opposed the new gun limitations, arguing they would inconvenience law-abiding firearms owners and could be easily circumvented by people determined to get weapons, reports AP news agency.

Senator Gustavo Rivera, a Bronx Democrat, said he had no problem putting up obstacles.

“It is meant to be a hassle to those folks who might want to get their hands quickly on something with which they could mass murder people," he said.

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In an interview with FoxNews on Wednesday, Hochul said, “We're going to have a package that people are going to be proud of, and it's going to close some loopholes, but also say that 18 year olds who cannot buy a beer at the local bar should not be able to buy an assault weapon.”

“We're going to change that immediately.”

With this, New York would join a handful of states— including Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Vermont and Washington - that require buyers to be at least 21 instead of 18 to purchase some types of long guns.

Similar legislation has also been proposed in Utah, while California's attempt to raise the legal buying age for semi-automatic weapons has also been challenged.