Gun control

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law a sweeping package of gun-control measures on Tuesday, significantly expanding a ban on assault weapons and making New York the first state to change its laws in response to the mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school.

The expanded ban on assault weapons broadens the definition of what is considered an assault weapon and reduces the permissible size of gun magazines to 7 rounds, from 10. It also includes provisions to better keep firearms away from mentally ill people and to impose stiffer penalties on people who use guns in the commission of crimes.

Gun-rights advocates denounced the measure. The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association said New York gun owners “should be ashamed and afraid of our state,” and the National Rifle Association said, “These gun-control schemes have failed in the past and will have no impact on public safety and crime.”

– Excerpts from a New York Times article by Thomas Kaplan