Major Changes to New York Gun Laws

NYC Defense Attorney Explains What Gun Owners Need to Know

Video Transcript:

David Jason Cohen: 

The impact is disproportionately felt in impoverished and minority communities, so I am not a fan of these new anti-gun units proposed and implemented by the mayor.

Tom Mustin: 

How have gun laws change recently in New York, and how are they going to be enforced? We're gonna talk to Attorney David Jason Cohen about that on today's Ask The Lawyer. David, thanks for joining us.

David Jason Cohen: 

Nice to be here, Tom.

Tom Mustin: 

David, recently, the New York State legislature passed updated gun laws in the state budget. Can you explain to us what the changes are?

David Jason Cohen: 

Well, there quite a few changes. I'll hit the highlighted ones, or as a criminal defense attorney, sort of the low lights. They have reduced the amount of weapons necessary for the criminal sale of a firearm presumption. They have changed in home possession of a firearm from a misdemeanor to a felony. They have criminalized the purchase of firearm parts, not even a whole firearm, but buying particular parts from gun manufacturers. They've increased the penalties for particular gun-related crimes, and they have expanded the assault riffle definitions, assault weapon definitions. So they have taken gun laws that were in the past, one level, increased them and made it easier for you to be charged with higher level felonies. And the third part is that they have increased the penalties and your exposure to incarceration for particular gun crimes.

Tom Mustin: 

Now, something else I wanna ask about, Mayor Eric Adams has launched with these neighborhood safety teams or anti-gun units. What's your opinion on these groups?

David Jason Cohen: 

Each mayor tries to do something, one time it was street crime units, now it's anti-gun units. In essence, I think that they are just a political stunt. I don't believe that it does anything to get more guns off the street. I do think that the impact is disproportionately felt in impoverished and minority community, so I am not a fan of these new anti-gun units proposed and implemented by the mayor.

Tom Mustin: 

Well, in another argument is they're actually just making low-level arrest. Is that what you're thinking too?

David Jason Cohen: 

It is. It is. What they do with these units is they put them in particular neighborhoods, they're plain clothes officers. They walk around and try to blend in, and the idea is somehow they are going to magically figure out who has a gun and where the gun is stashed, and how they can get the gun. What it really does is it gives these plain clothes officers a new weapon to go and speak to people that they don't like the way that they look, and maybe they're wearing the durag, or maybe they have too many tattoos or too many piercings, or they are hanging out on a street corner for too long or drinking a beer, God forbid, outside, and these law enforcement officers go up to them and they feel more empowered law enforcement, to speak to, to question, to stop and frisk, which has been shown to be unconstitutional here in New York. So I agree with the notion that these new units are actually dressed up to be those that will infringe upon more civil rights of people in the community.

Tom Mustin: 

And these are not police officers, so what happens if you're stopped by one of these people from the anti-gun unit and they want to search you, do you have to submit to that search?

David Jason Cohen: 

You do not have to submit to that search, you never have to submit to a search of your person, and you never should submit to a search of your person. If a law enforcement officer stops you, you must give them your name, you don't have to give them anything else. I always tell my clients or people who are not my clients, but ask me questions, "What should I give and what should tell police officers?" You should always tell them, no, you're not interested in allowing them to go further in their search of your person or your effects. And you should tell them, if they want to do anything, that, "I want a lawyer." Those are magical words and you should always say them when questioned or stopped by police officers.

Tom Mustin: 

Now, what do you do if you're actually arrested as a result of one of these anti-gun teams? What's the next step that you should take if this happens?

David Jason Cohen: 

If you're arrested in New York State, you should contact criminal lawyers at Cohen Forman Barone, and we can assist you. You should not speak to the police. So many people who are stopped, even if they're not doing anything that they think is illegal, they think that they can talk their ways out... Talk their way out of an arrest. I've been doing this for 26 years, the police stop me, I don't think I can talk myself out of an arrest. So I don't know how somebody who's never had interactions before believe that they can. Do not talk to the police. Tell them those magic words, that, "I want a lawyer." Any word that you say to them, remember, what you say can and will be used against you, with the emphasis about will be used against you. So what you should do once you're arrested is say, "I want a lawyer." And that automatically invokes particular constitutional rights on your behalf, and the police must stop questioning you.

Tom Mustin: 

And last question here, just getting back to the anti-gun units here. This seems like a really slippery slope, and it could be like some constitutional violations are going on here. If you're just getting stopped on the street because they don't like the way you look, it's getting...

David Jason Cohen: 

I think that... Sorry, Tom, please.

Tom Mustin: 

No, no, I was gonna say that... What's your thoughts on that? You've kind of told us, but it's an interesting concept here.

David Jason Cohen: 

Well, we had a few years ago, the 'stop and frisk' was outlawed as unconstitutional here in New York, and it is a slippery slope. Any time that you give law enforcement... Look, there are great law enforcement officers out there, but if you give people the right to search other people on the streets, it is a slippery slope. What else are they going to be allowed to... If there's a particular crime that people don't like to see and they are offended by, are we then going to have the anti-forgery units out there, or are we gonna have the anti-theft units out there? It's just giving law enforcement rules beyond what's stated by statute or in the constitution, the rights to search people who otherwise are simply minding their business.

Tom Mustin: 

David, just a fascinating discussion and we really appreciate your expertise.

David Jason Cohen: 

Thank you for talking with me, Tom. Today was a pleasure.

Tom Mustin: 

Thanks for joining us. And that's gonna do it for this episode of Ask The Lawyer. My guest has been David Jason Cohen. If you wanna ask David a question about your situation, call the number you see on the screen. Thanks for watching. I'm Tom Mustin for Ask The Lawyers.

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