This legislation would expand the law's current requirement that purchasers of handgun ammunition demonstrate that they are authorized to use the handgun for which they are purchasing the ammunition. Another bill for assault weapons limits the amount of ammunition purchased to no more than twice the capacity of each weapon owned within a 120 day period. Simon wants to be pro-active to stop potential terrorist attacks. Gun violence including mass shootings have become all too frequent in recent years, such as the massacre of 26 school children and teachers in Newtown, Conn., and most recently the terrorist attack at a holiday party in San Bernardino, Calif., where 14 people were murdered.
The assemblymember's proposed legislation to restrict the sale of ammunition will:
- Prevent terrorists from stockpiling ammunition
- Prevent gun dealers from selling ammunition for a firearm to anyone unauthorized to have such a weapon, regardless of weapon type
- Increase the penalty for the violation of this law, which would elevate a Class B misdemeanor, or not more than three months in jail and not more than $500 in fines, to a Class E felony, or up to four years in prison with a minimum of one year.
- Make New York's neighborhoods safe for families
Simon's proposal drew the ire and a quick response from the National Rifle Association, which flooded social media with a graphic of photos of Simon and Persaud surrounded by bullets.
The NRA's attempt to intimidate the two Brooklyn lawmakers came almost five years to the day former United States Congress member Gabby Giffords was shot in the head and six others were murdered at a constituents gathering in Tucson, Ariz. Sarah Palin's Super PAC, several months before the Tucson mass shooting, had placed a target over Giffords and 18 other federal lawmakers the PAC wanted to defeat in the 2012 mid-term elections.
Simon vowed to continue her fight to pass her legislation and not back down from the NRA.
"They are clearly trying to be intimidating and it is not working," Simon said.