SO... Does the SAFE ACT Nullify the Preban?

**Mac5.56** · 04-05-13, 23:50

Hey guys,

I just wanted to throw this out there. I have been thinking about loopholes lately with the (Not so) SAFE act and having read it I have to say it seems to nullify the legal difference between pre and post ban "assault weapons". How? you ask, it ties them all together as AW guns with more then one feature, but I see nothing in the law that makes a distinction between a pre ban and post ban gun. The only thing it does is ban future sales and define AW's as 1 feature weapons that we need to register by April 15th.

So, because they "got rid of loopholes" with this law, does this mean that all "assault weapons" are now created equal?

Can we modify our existing firearms beyond what was legal before January 14th since anything we register will, according to them, be acceptable?

What are your thoughts? They totally screwed the pooch on this in the language of the law and we may be able to re-attach that bayonet lug and have a super scary Pre-Pre-Ban AR15.

**kmrtnsn** · 04-05-13, 23:56

The Safe Act was a recently passed New York piece of legislation that most Constitutional scholars would agree is fundamentally flawed in both its reach and the method in which it was signed into law. Too apply the deficiencies of a piece of state legislation against an expired piece of federal legislation is not tenable. If and when SCOTUS evaluates the Safe Act, which I see the New York Supreme Court upturning before that could ever happen, they will evaluate the process and the reach of the law, and not reinterpret old definition.

**Hdog83** · 04-06-13, 07:22

kmrtnsn - he's talking about the NY state AWB that was passed during the '94 Federal AWB (with mostly similar 2-feature test, 10 round magazine limit with grandfathering, etc.) but that, importantly, did NOT have a sunset feature like the Federal ban. It has been in effect continuously, and (like MA and CT) has created a market for pre-9/14/94 receivers.

Mac 5.56 - it's a fair question, for sure. Are those sections of the original NY penal law containing the NY AWB still in effect, or were those sections "written over"/replaced by the text of the not-so-SAFE act? (I can't bring myself to look up and read the text of the statutes - it's just too painful.)

If the prior AWB sections are still there, then those AWB restrictions are still in place, and you can't just take a post-'94 receiver, build a no-ban rifle (or buy a current no-ban rifle) and then register it as an AW - you'd still be constructing / possessing a prohibited AW under NY law.

Maybe someone else who's done the work to read through it will come along and provide assistance....

**kmrtnsn** · 04-06-13, 08:15

If you look at the old and new versions of NY Code 265.00-265.40 you'll see that various sections of the code have been replaced, or re-worded. Essentially, under the NY Code, the old AWB has been retooled, not replaced or rendered invalid.

http://ypdcrime.com/penal.law/article265.htm

**a0cake** · 04-06-13, 09:32

I called in to the SAFE act information call center and was informed that if you own a Pre-94-Ban rifle, it remains legal but does have to be registered. However, I don't trust that the guy knew what he was talking about. I would not be surprised if someone got arrested trying to register a Pre-Ban with multiple features.

**Mac5.56** · 04-06-13, 18:18

Originally Posted by a0cake

I called in to the SAFE act information call center and was informed that if you own a Pre-94-Ban rifle, it remains legal but does have to be registered. However, I don't trust that the guy knew what he was talking about. I would not be surprised if someone got arrested trying to register a Pre-Ban with multiple features.

Well we don't even know what the registration process will look like or include at this point.

Since the law made everything with a single feature an assault weapon, but anything owned before January 14th 2013 Grandfathered in if registered, it seems that unless they put a specific clause defining a difference between post 94 vs. pre 94 multi feature firearms that the law pretty much looks at all of them as the same.

**a0cake** · 04-06-13, 18:21

Originally Posted by Mac5.56

Well we don't even know what the registration process will look like or include at this point.

Since the law made everything with a single feature an assault weapon, but anything owned before January 14th 2013 Grandfathered in if registered, it seems that unless they put a specific clause defining a difference between post 94 vs. pre 94 multi feature firearms that the law pretty much looks at all of them as the same.

Right, that's why I'm skeptical of his claim that having a pre 94 gun won't be a problem.

**ICANHITHIMMAN** · 04-06-13, 19:14

It can be registered but still has to comply with the one feature test. I think the state knows none of us intend to do any such thing, thus we have a 500$ reward on all our heads.