With the shooting deaths yesterday in Binghamton, there has been much media speculation about the mental state of the killer, but little to how he got the guns.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence rates New York State only 51 on a scale of 100 for safe gun policies.
Except for New York City, with its stringent controls, handgun registrations are permanent, not renewed - unlike, for instance, car registrations and driver's licences.
Records are kept on handgun sales, but there is no state system to automatically identify a gun owner who has committed a crime or otherwise become ineligible to possess a gun.
New York City leads the way in controlling access to murder weapons, with its re-registrations, and its policy of needs assessment for handguns. The rest of the state is overdue in following.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca Blog
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