Syracuse, N.Y. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was in Syracuse Monday to lobby to ensure plastic guns remain illegal under a federal law that’s set to expire in early March.
Schumer, a Democrat, was joined by Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, a Republican, and other local and law enforcement leaders, at a news conference held in the DA’s office in downtown Syracuse.
The Undetectable Firearms Act was signed into law in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. The law prohibits the possession, sale or transport of firearms that cannot be identified by metal detectors.
Firearms with less than 3.7 ounces, or 105 grams, of metal were banned by the federal law. This included 3D-printed guns and some mail-order “ghost gun” kits.
The provision has been reauthorized three times – last time in 2013 – but it is set to expire on March 8.
In July, the Democrat-majority Senate passed a version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act that included the reauthorization of the provision. The Republican-majority House approved the defense bill without the plastic gun law.
After negotiations, the plastic gun provision was dropped from the final bill signed by President Joe Biden in late December.
The opposition to the reauthorization is a “small band of hard-right Republicans,” Schumer said.
Schumer said he plans to use the same provision that was already passed by the Senate in the defense bill and include it in the next “must-pass bill.”
That plastic gun provision also includes a 10-year limit, meaning the provision will have to be reauthorized in 2034 if it is passed, Schumer said. He said he wishes it could be made permanent but it is more likely to pass with the expiration date.
The bill has support from police chiefs and police unions as well as major league sports organizations who are concerned about safety in stadiums if the ban expires.
Schumer said that he believes the provision will pass in the House because there was…
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