New York Penal Law Section 265.03 defines criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. The statute has three separate pathways and classifies the offense as a Class C felony. A pistol license can supply an exemption for covered possession under Section 265.20, but the text of Section 265.03 is not itself limited to the phrase "without a license."[1][4]
The Three Statutory Pathways
- Unlawful-intent possession: Possessing a machine gun, loaded firearm, or disguised gun with intent to use it unlawfully against another.
- Five or more firearms: Possessing five or more firearms as that term is defined by Section 265.00.
- Loaded-firearm possession: Possessing any loaded firearm, subject to the statute's qualified home-or-business language.
The third pathway does not require proof of intent to use the weapon unlawfully against another. The first pathway expressly does.[1]
New York's Broad Loaded-Firearm Definition
Section 265.00(15) defines a loaded firearm as a firearm loaded with ammunition or a firearm possessed by someone who simultaneously possesses ammunition that may be used to discharge it. Compatible ammunition therefore does not have to be in the chamber, cylinder, or an inserted magazine for the statutory definition to apply.[2]
The Article 265 definition of "firearm" includes any pistol or revolver, specified short-barreled or altered rifles and shotguns, assault weapons, and an additional fire-control-component category. It does not include an antique firearm. A conventional full-length rifle or shotgun is not automatically a "firearm" under this definition merely because it is a gun.[2]
Home or Place of Business
Subdivision 3 states that loaded-firearm possession in a person's home or place of business ordinarily does not violate that subdivision. The statute expressly qualifies that rule by referring to subdivisions 1 and 7 of Section 265.02. It also does not erase the separate unlawful-intent pathway in Section 265.03(1). The home-or-business language must therefore be applied to the charged subdivision and the other facts, not treated as an absolute permission rule.[1][3]
License Exemption
Section 265.20(3) exempts qualifying possession of a pistol or revolver by a person issued a license under Section 400.00 or 400.01. The exemption is tied to licensed possession and does not legalize conduct outside the license or every separate Article 265 offense.[4]
Classification and Sentencing
Section 265.03 is a Class C violent felony under Section 70.02. For a first violent-felony sentence governed by the rules in effect before September 1, 2027, the determinate range is three and one-half to fifteen years. A qualifying second violent felony offender is subject to a seven-to-fifteen-year determinate range. Criminal history, the exact conviction, and other sentencing statutes must be evaluated before stating an expected sentence in an individual case.[5][6]