Governor Hochul's 2024 Gun Safety Package: Six Bills Explained

Overview

On October 9, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul signed six gun safety bills into law at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.^[1] The signing coincided with the Governor's announcement that shooting incidents with injury across New York had declined 47% since 2021. The six bills collectively target the conversion of handguns into automatic weapons, strengthen dealer accountability, enhance red flag law enforcement, and establish new financial tracking mechanisms for firearms purchases.

Bill 1: Pistol Converter Regulation

The first bill adds the definition of "pistol converter" to Penal Law Section 265.00, classifying devices commonly known as "Glock switches" or "auto-sears" as a subset of rapid-fire modification devices.^[2] A pistol converter is defined as any device that, when attached to a semiautomatic pistol, causes the weapon to fire automatically -- converting it into a machine gun. The bill strengthens penalties for possession and requires firearms manufacturers to take reasonable steps to prevent their handguns from being converted to fully automatic operation. This provision builds on New York's 2019 rapid-fire modification device ban (PL 265.01-c).

Bill 2: Firearm Industry Accountability

The second bill strengthens New York's first-in-the-nation firearm industry accountability law by requiring manufacturers and distributors to implement reasonable controls and procedures to prevent the diversion of firearms to illegal markets. This includes taking steps to prevent handguns from being easily converted to machine guns through widely available aftermarket parts.^[3]

Bill 3: Dealer Safety Warnings

The third bill requires licensed firearms dealers and gunsmiths to post written safety warnings about the risks of firearms in the home.^[4] The warnings must address suicide risk, domestic violence, and the dangers of unsecured firearms around children. Dealers must display the warnings prominently at the entrance and at the point of sale. The legislation also requires dealers to distribute written safety information to each purchaser, including the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number (988).

Bill 4: Credit Card Merchant Category Codes (S8479A/A9862A)

The fourth bill requires credit card networks and payment processors operating in New York to assign and use a specific merchant category code (MCC) for firearms and ammunition retailers.^[5] The MCC, created by the International Organization for Standardization in 2022, allows financial institutions to flag unusually large or suspicious firearms-related purchases. New York became the third state, joining California and Colorado, to enact this requirement. The Attorney General is empowered to bring enforcement actions for violations not cured within 30 days, with fines up to $10,000 for noncompliance.

Bill 5: Gun Buyback Disposal Procedures (A8460)

The fifth bill establishes standardized procedures for disassembling and disposing of firearms collected through local gun buyback programs.^[6] Previously, disposal procedures varied by municipality. The new law creates uniform standards to ensure that buyback firearms are permanently destroyed and cannot reenter circulation.

Bill 6: Red Flag Law Registry (S3340/A5873)

The sixth bill requires courts to notify the statewide registry of orders of protection and warrants whenever a temporary or final extreme risk protection order (ERPO) is issued.^[7] This ensures that ERPOs are tracked in the same statewide system used for other protective orders, enabling law enforcement to verify in real time whether a person is subject to a firearm removal order. The bill also allows police agencies -- not just individual officers -- to petition courts for ERPOs, streamlining the process for departments across the state.

April 2025 Chapter Amendments

On April 3, 2025, Governor Hochul signed three chapter amendments refining provisions of the original October 2024 gun safety package.^[8] These amendments addressed technical and scope issues identified after the original bills took effect:

• S.744/A.436 (Pistol Converters): This chapter amendment to L.2024, C.429 formally added "pistol converter" as a specifically defined subcategory of "rapid-fire modification device" under PL 265.00. The amendment ensures that the statutory definition explicitly includes pistol converters alongside bump stocks, trigger cranks, binary trigger systems, and burst trigger systems, and clarifies the penalty structure for their possession and use.^[9]
• S.745/A.439 (Credit Card MCC Refinement): This chapter amendment refined the MCC requirement by removing standalone ammunition dealers from certain definitional provisions while ensuring the MCC assignment requirement captures retailers whose primary sales come from firearms, ammunition, and firearms accessories combined. The amendment also confirmed a 30-day cure period before the Attorney General may bring enforcement actions, with compliance enforceable by May 2025.^[10]
• S.743/A.437 (Dealer Safety Warnings): This chapter amendment strengthened the dealer safety warning requirements from the original package by requiring bigger, clearer, and more specific signage at both the entrance to the dealership and at the point of sale.^[11]

These chapter amendments are part of the legislative process by which new laws are fine-tuned after initial enactment. They do not change the fundamental structure of the October 2024 package but ensure that the provisions operate as intended.