Next stop is state Senate

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Codes Committee Chair Joseph Lentol today announced the Assembly's expected passage of a legislative package to combat gun violence.

"The bills will enhance safety by assisting police in their efforts to investigate illegal firearms, prohibiting felons from buying guns, requiring child-proof devices on guns and banning advanced firearms and ammunition used to kill police officers," according to a press release from Silver's office.

According to Silver's press release: "New York is one of the safest states in the nation and it must stay that way," said Silver (D-Manhattan). To achieve this, we must craft laws that prevent dangerous felons from possessing weapons while assisting law enforcement agencies as they combat gun trafficking. Although the majority of gun owners are law-abiding citizens, we must ensure that guns do not fall into the hands of violent felons or children. This package contains bills that address public safety, while weighing the needs of hunters and sportspeople."

To read the full article, please click here: http://blog.syracuse.com/outdoors/2009/04/state_assembly_expected_to_pas.html

There is a strong (and growing) public policy-driven market for a “Smartgun.”  The public has often expressed its desire–or even demand–for improvements in gun safety and security, often in the emotional context of the aftermath of a school shooting rampage, or the accidental shooting death of a child.  In 2001, according to a national opinion survey by the respected NORC, 73.6 percent of Americans favored a requirement for all new handguns to be personalized guns (i.e., “Smartguns”).

Several companies are now working on embedding palm biometrics security mechanism in guns: The gun grip will store the image of the owner's palm, and the gun will unlock only if the image of the palm holding the gun matches the stored image; California wants this mechanism in all guns sold in the state