Is A preban (1993) Colt AR Legal in NY?

"It shall be unlawful to possess any "assault weapon" or a "large capacity ammunition feeding device". So called "assault weapons" lawfully possessed prior to September 14, 1994 and "large capacity ammunition feeding devices" manufactured prior to such date are grandfathered."
 
Nobody knows everything, all the time.

Does "lawfully possessed" mean "lawfully possessed in New York?"
 
"It shall be unlawful to possess any "assault weapon" or a "large capacity ammunition feeding device". So called "assault weapons" lawfully possessed prior to September 14, 1994 and "large capacity ammunition feeding devices" manufactured prior to such date are grandfathered."
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Assumption: this is the controlling language in NY statutes.

Note that the law speaks to the manufacture date of magazines, not to the manufacture date of the so-called "assault weapon". Rather, it speaks to the possession of the weapon. At this point, it's a sticky wicket, because it doesn't specify that the person who lawfully possessed the firearm prior to September 14, 1994 is the current possessor of the firearm, nor that the firearm was possessed in the state of New York prior to September 14, 1994.
 
Heck , I didnt know the answer either Alaska, But , it seemed like an easy jab. :D
"3 pallets of ammo and laziness"
thats a start, you got a few beers?
 
It would be allowed if the person owned it before the ban, but you wouldn't be able to go out and buy a new one.
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Yes - but the essential question is whether a firearm lawfully possessed before the "ban" date could be lawfully transferred to and possessed by another person after the ban date.
 
I've seen that language before, but then why do most of the sporting goods stores in the state, including gander mountain, sell them ( the rifles, not the mags ) including the new remington r-15? Thats certainly capable of using a large capacity magazine. The NY guns shows usually have plenty of them too (not now, but thats a different story).
 
I've seen that language before, but then why do most of the sporting goods stores in the state, including gander mountain, sell them
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From my understanding NY's AWB is very similar to the expired federal AWB. It doesn't ban the sale of AR15's it bans the sale of Ar15's with certain features.

Do any of these AR15's you see for sale possess, in addition to the pistol grip, any of the following:

1. Collapsible Stock

2. Bayonet Lug

3. Flash Suppresor

4. Grenade Launcher

From my understanding of NY law If they do not they are legal to sell.

The expired federal ban prohibited Semi-automatic rifles able to accept detachable magazines and two or more of the following:

Folding or telescoping stock

Pistol grip

Bayonet mount

Flash suppressor, or threaded barrel designed to accommodate one

Grenade launcher (more precisely, a muzzle device which enables the launching or firing of rifle grenades)
 
thats a great point, i wasn't thinking about it that way. so then i guess post ban ar's are legal to transfer, but pre-bans may not be, depending on circumstances? thnx
 
out of state grandfather? Not likely.

New Yorks law is current, it did not expire, so anything meeting the restrictive criteria in the law is still banned.

True, the law does not specificly say possesed in New York State, or possessed by a NYS resident, but since NY laws do not apply to people who are not NYS residents or physically in New York, I think the most likely interpretation would be that if the gun was not legally in NY when the law took effect, it cannot be brought in. Isn't that also the way California sees it?

You could argue the other way, after all, the law does not specifically state where the weapon had to be posessed on the effective date. But I for one would not want to be the test case. I have a pretty good idea which way most of the NY judges would rule on that one. And I don't think risking my gun rights just to be able own an AR with banned features in NY is worth it. Because, in the long run, if you did bring the gun in, and after all the appeals were finally said and done, if they went against you, that's what would happen.

You may, if you can afford it, bring a suit of some kind to get a ruling on this before you bring in the (potentially) banned weapon, so no actual crime is committed. Just be properly prepared for all possible outcomes. Possibilities include
A) rule in your favor (yay!!!) bring in as many as you can before the legislators amend the "horrible loophole" in the law!
B) rule against you. Sorry, no can have gun with evil features in the good state of NY. Case dismissed
B.1) rule against you, and charges brought against you for conspiracy to violate NY assault weapon law (not likely, but lots of unlikely legal things happen in NY)

bottom line, as I see it, if you have a rifle with the banned features, and cannot proove you had it in NY before the law took effect, be prepared to have your day in court. Good Luck.
 
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