POUGHKEEPSIE – US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was at the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office on Monday to talk about the ban on plastic firearms known as ghost guns. The Federal ban on undetectable weapons is set to expire on Friday if Congress fails to act. The senator from New York was joined by both Republican and Democratic elected officials and City of Poughkeepsie Police Chief Tom Pape.
Schumer noted that an extension of the legislation is included in the most recent budget package but it needs to be voted on before March 8, 2024.
Schumer said the key federal provision that makes fully plastic undetectable ghost guns illegal is at risk of expiring unless a seven-year extension is approved by Friday.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to get this passed and signed into law,” Schumer said, adding “I would personally like to make it permanent but compromise is the art of politics and some people on the other side didn’t want to make it permanent. But seven years will give us plenty of time to make it permanent,” Schumer said.
New York already enacted a law banning ghost guns several years ago but the federal law allows for violators to be charged with more strict federal crimes.
The proposed extension will require that every gun produced includes at least four ounces of metal, which is the equivalent of a roll of 50 pennies. The metal is enough to make the weapon detectable when passing through metal detectors that have become more common at major venues in the last 30 years.
Video highlights of Senator Schumer in Poughkeepsie:
