New York's Anti Body Armor Bill
- Jan 7, 2021
New York is at it again.
After Senator Charles Schumer said he would introduce legislation to regulate ownership of body armor in August of 2019, it seems that more tyrannical legislators from the Empire State (what an appropriate nickname) want to infringe on citizens’ rights.
What it is
The New York State Senate is set to introduce Assembly Bill 352, which would outlaw “the unlawful possession or purchase of a body vest” (as defined in NY Penal Law 270.20).
If passed, the new law (proposed as 270.21) would make the unlawful purchase or possession of body armor a Class A misdemeanor for the first offense and Class E felony for subsequent offenses.
There has been some discussion online as to whether or not this new law would encompass both soft and hard armor, with many saying that it only affects soft armor based on the definition of “body vest” in 270.20 (emphasis added):
- For the purposes of this section a "body vest" means a bullet-resistant soft body armor providing, as a minimum standard, the level of protection known as threat level I which shall mean at least seven layers of bullet-resistant material providing protection from three shots of one hundred fifty-eight grain lead ammunition fired from a .38 calibre handgun at a velocity of eight hundred fifty feet per second."
What it means
While we aren’t lawyers, the discussion of Level I soft armor being the minimum standard makes it probable that the state senate means to include armor plates, and to assume otherwise would be short-sighted.
Make no mistake: this is an assault on New York citizens’ Constitutional right to own body armor, one of the two most important Tools of Liberty (firearms being the other).
What can you do?
Contact your NY Senator to register your opposition to the state infringing on your right to protect yourself and loved ones, merely by owning a defensive tool. If you have family and friends in New York, contact them and urge them to take action, too!
