New York bans the sale of semi-automatic weapons to those under 21

The state of New York prohibited the sale of semi-automatic weapons to those under 21 years of age, in an attempt to reduce violence after the recent massacres perpetrated by teenagers in Buffalo and Uvalde, which resulted in 10 and 21 deaths (19 children) in the past weeks.

Until now, the minimum age to acquire these weapons was 18 years.

The governor of the state, the Democrat Kathy Hochul signed on Monday a package of measures approved in record time by the state Parliament, which also includes the ban on selling tactical vests and protective helmets to people outside certain professions.

“Gun violence is an epidemic that is tearing our country apart,” said the governor, accompanied by the leaders of the Chamber – who made the approval of the package possible – and local authorities, such as prosecutor Letitia James.

Hochul He urged the federal Congress to “lead and take immediate measures” to prevent significant violence against weapons, considering that it is a “national problem.”

“Lives depend on it,” he urged.

Just last weekend, 10 people were killed and more than twenty wounded in a series of shootings across the country.

According to a CBS News poll, a majority of Americans favor stricter rules on gun ownership, with 81% supporting background checks on all potential buyers.

In the face of the wave of violence Fire arms President Joe Biden also a Democrat, once again lambasted the Republicans who oppose restricting the sale of weapons and deplored the fact that places such as schools or hospitals “have become death camps, battlefields.”

On Sunday, the president again said “Enough”. “If we can’t ban assault weapons like we should, we should at least raise the age to 21” to purchase them, he tweeted.

Gun violence in the United States has killed more than 18,000 people so far in 2022, including nearly 10,300 suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The most serious incidents so far are the massacre by an 18-year-old white supremacist in a supermarket in Buffalo, upstate New York, on May 14, in which 10 African-Americans died; and the shooting 10 days later at a school in Uvalde, in the southern state of Texas, at the hands of an 18-year-old, in which 19 children and two teachers died.

In 2020, there were some 393 million firearms in circulation in the United States, more than the population of the country.