The State of New York Senate Code Committee has pre-filed on January 6th, 2021 an amendment to the Penal Law adding new section §270.21.
The current amendment under consideration was sponsored by Senator Jacobsen.
Summary of the revised Amendment:
Prohibits the purchase or possession of a body vest; establishes that the purchase or possession of a body vest shall be a class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a class E felony for each subsequent offense.
A similar amendment was proposed in the 20-19-2020 Regular Session in Assembly on August 23rd, 2019 but never made it out of committee. Assembly Bill A8538 related to the unlawful purchase or possession of a body vest.
This amendment was introduced by Senators Jacobsen, McDonough, Montesano and Gottfried.
Currently it is legal for people to sell, ship to, own and wear body armor in the State of New York. If this amendment is adopted by the State Congress, it will become illegal to purchase, utilize or own body armor unless you are in law enforcement or any other profession that the Department of State deems appropriate.
Not only will you no longer be able to purchase body armor or order in body armor from elsewhere, But if you are a resident of New York State you will have 15 days from the effective date of this bill to turn in your armor to any local or state law enforcement agency.
The penalty to fail to follow the newly enacted law is a Class A misdemeanor on the first offense, and a Class E felony for any further offenses.
The full text of the bill can be seen here.
The fact that crime is skyrocketing in New York, with shooting numbers skyrocketing, it most certainly makes sense to outlaw a citizens best option to defend against being shot and killed.
Just another of many examples why people are moving out of New York State in droves.