NYC Assault Weapons Defense Lawyers

Assault Weapons: What’s Allowed in New York?

The state of New York has laws on the books that take a strong stance against owning, manufacturing or transporting or an assault weapon through the state. New York defines an assault weapon as a semi-automatic rifle, pistol or shotgun that is powered by a detachable magazine and has either a folding, protruding, thumb-hole or telescoping stock; secondary handgrips; mounts for additional weaponry such as a bayonet or grenade launcher; or a barrel that can accommodate a flash suppressor, muzzle compensator or break, or a suppressor.

Is it Legal to Own an Assault Weapon in New York?

New York’s definition of an assault rifle applies to any and all weapons that have been processed through legal channels prior to January 15, 2013, when new regulations were put in place. These weapons that have been grandfathered into legal status may exchanged disposed of or sold to, but the recipient of the weapon must be authorized to take possession of such a weapon before the transaction is officially recognized by the state. However, the owner of an assault weapon may transfer the weapon to a party that resides in another state provided that the neighboring state permits the transfer of assault weapons and the transfer of possession is made known within 72 hours of transfer.

These sets of circumstances do not permit one party to transfer assault weapons into the country under these permissions, and any caught attempting to do so may be found guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

In order to maintain a legal status of one’s assault weapon, it must have been purchased prior to the January 15, 2013 deadline and an application must be on file to register this weapon with the Superintendent of State Police.