BILL NUMBER: S6403
SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law and the civil practice law and
rules, in relation to establishing a private cause of action for certain
violations regarding machine-guns, assault weapons, disguised guns,
ghost guns, and unfinished frames or receivers
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to create a private cause of action for
violations of state law concerning firearms that is exclusively enforced
by private person lawsuits, an enforcement concept sanctioned by the
U.S. Supreme Court in Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds a new Article 39-DDDDD to the General Business Law that
creates a private cause of action for individuals to sue for violations
of state law concerning machine guns, assault weapons, disguised guns,
ghost guns, and unfinished frames or receivers.
Section 2 provides that statutory damages shall be made in an appropri-
ate amount if based on certain factors.
Section 3 adds a new Section 8111 to the Civil Practice Law and Rules
that pertains to costs for actions related to firearms.
Section 4 additional conditions on enforcement of firearms laws.
Section 5 is the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
According to the Pew Research Center, in 2020 there were 45,222 gun-re-
lated deaths in the United States.' Even worse, this is an increase of
14% from 2019, a 25% increase from 2015, and a 43% increase from 2010.
There is also high healthcare costs related to gun violence. According
to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, initial hospital costs for
emergency room visits, ambulance services, and other immediate hospital
care linked to shootings exceeds $1 billion annually.2 This does not
include other costs such as long-term physical and mental injuries, lost
wages, and loss of productivity. If these are included, those costs
dramatically increase to over $300 billion annually, according to
government groups and advocates that have collected and reviewed public-
ly available data.
New York, and the entire nation, saw a spike in gun violence in 2022.
We must and we can do something about this. The influx of firearms into
New York is very problematic, and we must use any and all available
tools to combat it. In Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson,' the U.S.
Supreme Court sanctioned the concept of private person lawsuits as the
sole enforcement mechanism of a law. Following this precedent, individ-
uals will be able to hold the gun industry liable through lawsuits for
the influx of firearms into New York that inflict such high and terrible
costs on the lives of New Yorkers.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S.5628 - Referred to Codes/A.5884 - Referred to Economic
Development
2021-2022: S.9227 - Referred to Codes
 
STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the 30th day after it shall have become a
law; provided, however, that Section 2 of this act shall take effect
upon the final determination of a court of competent jurisdiction that
the provisions of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of Section 898-n of the
General Business Law as added by Section 1 of this act are invalid or
unconstitutional; provided that the Attorney General shall notify the
Legislative Bill Drafting Commission upon the occurrence of such a final
determination by a court in order that the commission may maintain an
accurate and timely effective data base of the official text of the laws
of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions
of Section 44 of the Legislative Law and Section 70-b of the Public
Officers Law. John Gramlich, What the data says about gun deaths in the
U.S.,https://www,pewresearch.orgilkt-tanki2022/02/03/what-the-dat9-
says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s . 2 Government Accountability Office,
Firearm Injuries: Health Care Service Needs and Costs, htt
ps://www.po.gov/productslgao-21-515. 595 U.S.(2021).

Statutes affected:
S6403: 898-n general business law, 898-n(2) general business law