ALBANY, N.Y. — Nearly a year after passage of the state's tougher gun law, dealer sales of popular AR-15 semiautomatic rifles have ended in New York and arrest data show more than 1,000 gun possession charges in New York City were boosted from misdemeanors to felonies because of the changes.
Meanwhile, 59 people have been charged statewide with misdemeanors for possessing large-capacity magazines or having more than seven bullets loaded in a magazine, both outlawed by the law passed last January in the aftermath of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
A report from the Division of Criminal Justice Services shows only one person charged with the illegal sale or transfer of a gun defined as an assault weapon as of mid-December. The new law expanded that definition to include AR-15s. Owners may keep their older weapons but must register them by April 15.
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''The numbers are indisputable. The SAFE Act has enabled the state to better protect New Yorkers,'' said Melissa DeRosa, spokeswoman for Governor Andrew Cuomo.
He pushed the legislation shortly after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 20 first-graders and six educators dead. Police said the 20-year-old gunman used a semiautomatic rifle and 30-round magazines.
The division's data from arrests and arraignments statewide showed 1,291 charges under the new gun law, with 1,155 for felony firearm possession, formerly just a misdemeanor, and 1,041 of the cases in New York City, mostly in Brooklyn and the Bronx. The new felony took effect in March, elevating the charge and penalty for illegal possession of a firearm.
Separately, 17,751 people have been charged so far this year with misdemeanor weapon possession, almost 90 percent in New York City, comparable to last year's 19,089 yearlong total before the law changed. The misdemeanor charge includes such weapons as switchblades, blackjacks, and brass knuckles.
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Other arrests under the new gun law included 26 for weapon possession on school grounds.
Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, whose federal lawsuit in Buffalo to overturn the law awaits a judge's ruling, said it has been his organization's position for years that what is needed is enforcement and prosecution of existing gun laws.
''Other than to make it extremely difficult for the legal and lawful gun owner in New York state, I don't see what the SAFE Act has done in New York to make anyone more safe,'' King said.
He said he was not surprised that licensed dealers have followed the law and stopped selling guns redefined in the law as assault weapons. ''The dealers have always been following the laws, as have most of the legal and lawful gun owners,'' he said.
The State Police, who for months have been accepting online registrations for those guns ahead of the April 15 deadline, refused to disclose how many they have received. Spokeswoman Darcy Wells said the statistics are ''derived from information collected for the State Police database and are, therefore, exempt from disclosure.''
At gun rallies this year outside the Capitol in Albany, several protesters vowed not to register their guns, calling it a violation of their Second Amendment rights.