State Police: 11 assault weapons on Island

There are 11 assault weapons registered on Shelter Island with the New York State Police Department, seven in the 11964 ZIP code and four in the 11965 ZIP Code.

The NY SAFE Act (Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement) of 2013 defines assault weapons as semi-automatic firearms with detachable magazines, and at least “one military-style feature.” These weapons have been banned for sale in New York State since passage of the legislation in January 2013, spurred by the murders of 26 people, including 20 school children, in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14, 2012.

All weapons in that category purchased before the passage of the law have to be registered with the New York State Police Department, and 44,160 assault weapons have been registered in the State, including the 11 on the Island, since the law took effect.

The number of Shelter Islanders holding pistol licenses rose by four in the first six months of this year, from 78 in all of 2021, to 82, according to the Shelter Island Police Department and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office. The previous highest number of Islanders holding pistol licenses was 84 in 2019.

There is no regulation on purchasing rifles or shotguns in New York State, except in New York City.

Earlier this summer, after an unprecedented number of mass shootings, including the racist attack that killed 10 people in Buffalo, and 19 schoolchildren in Texas, Congress passed the most significant firearm regulations in years on a bi-partisan vote — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voted for it — that would aid states to ban weapons from those deemed by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others (so-called “red flag laws”).

The legislation also did away with the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” which would keep guns out of the hands of those convicted of abusing their unmarried partners.

It didn’t institute a federal ban on assault weapons. At the same time this summer, the Supreme Court overturned New York State’s limits on carrying concealed weapons, a State law enacted 1913.

Before Congress acted, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed several gun control bills, including banning most residents from buying bullet-resistant body armor. It also updates the State’s red-flag law.

Free gun locks and gun safety information from Project ChildSafe — a nonprofit emphasizing gun and training — are available at Shelter Island Police Department headquarters. While providing the gun locks for pistols, shotguns and rifles, police and the ChildSafe Project stress that no firearm safety or lock can be a substitute for safe, careful gun handling and storage. The lock is intended to discourage unauthorized access, particularly by children.

The Project’s literature stresses that nearly all firearm accidents in the home can be prevented simply by making sure that guns are kept unloaded and locked up, with ammunition stored in a separate location.

It’s the gun owner’s responsibility to store guns, the Project emphasizes, in such a way that children cannot get access to them. Hiding a gun in a closet, drawer or similar location is not considered safe storage, particularly because children are curious and may find a gun that was believed safely hidden in the home.

In addition to the cable locks, other safety options include a trigger lock, lock box, gun safe and disassembling the guns when storing.