Bill/Issue: NY A. 352

Position: Opposed

Author: Jonathan Jacobson (D-104)

Summary: A. 352 deprives New Yorkers of their right to passive defense by instituting a confiscatory ban on body armor.

A. 352 criminalizes the purchase and possession of body vests, which New York law defines as soft body armor that provides wearers with Level I or greater protection (the lowest common rating for body armor) intended to stop low kinetic energy rounds such as a .380.

Under the proposed legislation, the first offense for the purchase or possession of a body vest would be a Class A misdemeanor, which may result in up to a year in prison. Subsequent offenses would constitute a Class E felony, which carries a potential sentence of up to four years in prison.

If passed, this law would go into effect sixty days later and anyone currently in possession of a body vest would be required to turn it into the police within the following fifteen days. As is tradition, police are exempt from this new restraint on the right to keep and bear arms. 

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