New York Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Ban Kids under 12 from Gun Shows
OutdoorHub Reporters 01.28.15
Should children be allowed to attend gun shows? No, according to some New York legislators. A bill was recently introduced to the New York State Assembly that would bar anyone under 12 years of age from going to a gun show. State Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal (D-WF Manhattan), who introduced bill A967, stated that the purpose of the measure was to protect minors from “exposure to deadly weaponry.”
The bill has no provision for minors who are accompanied by an adult.
“As the gun industry prepares a public campaign to broaden the appeal of guns, it is important that we establish reasonable age limits for admission to gun shows by children,” Rosenthal wrote in a memo accompanying the bill. “Within New York State and other areas of jurisdiction, we have myriad regulations that seek to protect minors from exposure to certain potentially dangerous situations and influences. For example, a minor is restricted from watching films or playing certain video games that portray deadly weaponry and gunplay. Currently, however, minors of any age may gain unfettered access to a gun show.”
Rosenthal has been a vocal supporter of gun control in New York and is a member of State Legislators Against Illegal Guns. In 2013, she voted for the highly controversial New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act, which among other things set stricter definitions on so-called “assault weapons” and reduced the maximum allowed magazine capacity from 10 rounds to seven.
“New York’s law should be a national model,” Rosenthal said at the time. “No matter where you live, in a red state or a blue state, in the city or the countryside, one thing is true: you do not need an assault weapon to hunt, and if you do, perhaps you should take up another hobby.”
A nearly identical bill introduced by Rosenthal in 2013 failed to get off the ground.
