A state lawmaker in New York has introduced a bill making illegal to buy or possess bulletproof vests.
The proposed law by assembly member Jonathan Jacobson, a Democrat, would require New York residents who own the body armor to turn it over to police, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
An existing law in New York bans the use of bulletproof vests while carrying out “any violent felony offense.” But the Beacon noted if Jacobson’s bill becomes law, it would make New York the first state to ban the sale or possession of the body armor.
The bill was filed on Jan. 6, the Beacon said. Second amendment advocates are already blasting it.The Firearms Policy Coalition has created a website in an attempt to organize against the bill.
“Under the proposed legislation, the first offense for the purchase or possession of a body vest would be a Class A misdemeanor, which may result in up to a year in prison,” the group said on the website. “Subsequent offenses would constitute a Class E felony, which carries a potential sentence of up to four years in prison.
“If passed, this law would go into effect sixty days later and anyone currently in possession of a body vest would be required to turn it into the police within the following fifteen days. As is tradition, police are exempt from this new restraint on the right to keep and bear arms.”
The group urged members to “fight back now” by sending a message to New York lawmakers.
It is not the first time Jacobson has tried to get the measure passed. The Times-Herald Record reported he had also introduced the bill in 2019.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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