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NY Large Magazine Ban
tucker92
Member Posts: 94 ✭✭
If a person has a large capacity magazine he bought prior to 1994 is it legal to possess in NY?
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Best
Best
So, NYS dealers & authorities will accept just about any "proof" that a mag is NYS legal. There is a photo on the Internet of Glock mag variations, & that helps Glock owners, even though the photo is certainly not a Glock-official document. A dealer or distributor receipt accompanying mags goes a long way to proving they are NYS legal. A photo showing you in front of a NY landmark, holding up a copy of the New York Times in one hand & some mags in the other, would probably be considered good evidence.
But, the bottom line is that few folks outside the business really care. NYS authorities get more bang for their buck busting folks with a van load of untaxed cigarettes.
Neal
EDIT: In the entire English speaking world, with the sole exception of the State of California, a hi-cap mag body is treated the same as a complete hi-cap mag. The only person stupid enough to rule that a complete mag, disassembled & in a bag, is not a mag, would be a CA Attorney General.
In this country, the burden of proof for a conviction is on the state. However, reasonable suspicion is enough to get you arrested.
NYS law doesn't address hi-cap mag repair parts. Regulations may, but the NYS AG doesn't make it easy for the general public to get information about it.
The problem is, most "pre-ban" mags have no date stamped on them.
So, NYS dealers & authorities will accept just about any "proof" that a mag is NYS legal. There is a photo on the Internet of Glock mag variations, & that helps Glock owners, even though the photo is certainly not a Glock-official document. A dealer or distributor receipt accompanying mags goes a long way to proving they are NYS legal. A photo showing you in front of a NY landmark, holding up a copy of the New York Times in one hand & some mags in the other, would probably be considered good evidence.
But, the bottom line is that few folks outside the business really care. NYS authorities get more bang for their buck busting folks with a van load of untaxed cigarettes.
Neal
Just so we have our chronology correct.
Up to 1994 mags had no "LE Only" marking. From 1994 to 2004 they had "LE Only" markings. After 2004 to present day they have no "LE only" markings.
To the untrained eye a pre-94 mag will look like a post 2004 mag, correct? Is the burden of proof on the state to show the mag is post 2004 or on the owner to prove it is pre-1994?
For sake of discussion let's say the difference between a pre-94 Glock and a post - 94 Glock is an orange follower and a blue follower. My pre - 94 (orange) follower cracks and I replace it with a post - 94 (blue) follower. Have I broken the law? Will LE look at it and decide it must be post - 04 because the follower is blue?
Does NY law allow for the repair of pre - 94 magazines? If so must they be repaired with pre-94 parts or can post - 94 & post - 2004 parts be used?
In CA we can legally repair our hi caps, so it's possible to have a pre-ban magazine with all of it's parts eventually replaced - as a result it is impossible to determine, based on the mag alone, whether it's legal or not legal.
My Vietnam era pseudo M-16 is made up to be as close as possible to what I carried.
Short 'A1 stock, pinned swivel, triangular forearm, and 20rd. magazines.
I made sure the magazines I have were no longer in production prior to the ban. In this case, I have Colt marked 20rd'ers. None made after 1979. Got an unopened 7-mag box from right here, on GB.
If in doubt, go into any large G/S, and make sure they put pre-1994 manufacture on the receipt when you make the purchase. I did so with a 30rd'er I purchased in Albany, NY, about two years ago.
Best, Joe
If you have what you feel are pre ban mags (made before Sept 1994) you better be able to prove that fact if you are caught or stopped by law enforcement.
Its a good thing the cops in NY have so much free time to be worrying about whether or not a mag is pre-ban or post-ban. If I were a cop in NY and I stopped someone with a CCW, I wouldn't give a crap if he had pre or post ban mag in his weapon. If he has a CCW, he's a good guy and should not be harrassed.