Questions, Emotions Surround NY SAFE Act

1/29/2013 (Updated 9:30:17 PM)

(Source: Jason Weinstein)

Questions, answers, and emotion as hundreds packed the Endwell Fire Hall to hear law enforcement officials explain the state's NY SAFE Act. The gun control law outlines a number of restrictions, including a stricter definition of assault weapons, which have to be registered with the state, and requiring people to renew their pistol permits every five years.

"A lot of things in this law were misconstrued. People think all their weapons are going to be taken away by the police or by the state. And we want to assure them that any weapon that's still legally owned today is still legally owned," said Deputy Superintendent of the New York State Police Kevin Gagan.

But some at the meeting see the new law as an infringement on their Second-Ammendment rights.

"I'm not being unreallistic that we don't need something but what this law is, as you see, is further restriction on law-abiding citizens," said Al Belardinelli of Endwell.

Others got more value from the Q&A session.

"There's still a few unanswered questions at this point but I feel a little more informed than I did previously," said Vestal resident Mike Neilson.

There are a lot of common questions these officials are hearing.
"Is my gun considered an assault weapon? The other big question is about the pistol permit. If I have a pistol permit now, when it is do I have to register, with whom do I have to register?" said Kagan.

The local sheriff's office will still administer pistol permits while the State Police will be in charge of the assault-weapon registry. The state wants people with questions to call 1-855-lawguns, or go online to www.nysafeact.com.

****In Endwell, Jason Weinstein, Fox 40 HD News****