New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Wednesday that she wants to work with the legislature to raise the age limit for some gun purchases in the Empire State.
“I have a question to ask: How does an 18-year-old purchase an AR-15 in the State of New York, State of Texas? That person’s not old enough to buy a legal drink,” she said at a meeting with the Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns. “I want to work with the legislature to change that. I want it to be 21.”
“I don’t want 18-year-olds to have guns at least not in the State of New York,” she added.
Hochul’s recommendation came after Salvador Ramos, 18, reportedly killed 19 students and 2 teachers on Tuesday in a classroom in Robb Elementary School in Texas.
Ramos was also killed in the event by a tactical team of law enforcement officers, including Border Patrol SWAT agents and a Uvalde deputy.
In a separate mass shooting incident on May 14 in Buffalo, New York, a suspect who is also 18-year-old allegedly killed 10 people at the Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
The suspect, Payton Gendron, was charged with first-degree murder. His court-appointed lawyer entered a plea of “not guilty” on his behalf.
The New York governor also ordered more safety measures at the schools.
“I want state police patrols visiting our schools, doing daily check-ins, every single day from today until the end of the school year,” she said.
These state police will be both uniformed and plainclothed officers.
The Uvalde shooting and Buffalo shooting triggered a new round of disputes over stricter gun laws and second amendment rights.
President Joe Biden pushed for stricter gun laws after the Texas shooting and urged lawmakers to “stand up to the gun lobby.”
However, Republicans proposed a different solution to the situation.
“Inevitably, when there’s a murder of this kind, you see politicians try to politicize it, you see Democrats and a lot of folks in the media whose immediate solution is to try to restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told reporters. “That doesn’t work. It’s not effective. It doesn’t prevent crime.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also said he wants law-abiding citizens armed and trained “so that they can respond when something like this happens because it’s not going to be the last time.”
The National Rifle Association made a statement on Wednesday about the Texas shooting without mentioning the Second Amendment.
