NY State Police Won’t Release Firearm Registration Numbers, Likely Because Hardly Anyone Registered

ALBANY, NY — With the uncertainty of how well the NY SAFE Act is working and the upcoming elections, State Police are continuously denying requests to release just how many New Yorkers have registered their firearms now listed as ‘assault weapons’ under Governor Cuomo’s SAFE Act.

Anyone in possession of a firearm that met the new requirements of being classified as an ‘assault weapon’ had to register those firearms no later than April 15th of this year. Some protesters burned the registration cards before the deadline as an act of civil disobedience.

On Saturday, the Times Union reported that the state’s Committee on Open Government said it believes State Police officials should not keep secret the aggregate number of New Yorkers who have registered their assault-style weapons since that part of the SAFE Act gun control law took effect in April 2013.

Guns with military-style features such as flash suppressors or pistol grips fall under the new law and have to be registered.

While the State Police cannot release identifying information, there seems to be no reason why they cannot give out a number — even a ballpark number — as to just how many residents have registered.

The likely answer to the question “Why aren’t you releasing this information when asked” is because, well, hardly anyone has registered.

Earlier this year in Connecticut, it was noted that only 50,000 firearm owners registered their firearms out of an estimated 500,000. This new registration was created in the same fashion as the SAFE Act by making previously legal firearms illegal or needing registration.