Prohibits gun industry members from directing advertising, marketing, promoting, designing, or selling certain firearm-related products in a manner that would encourage unlawful purchase, possession, or use by underage individuals in the state; provides criteria for determining whether a gun industry member reasonably appears to support, recommend, or encourage underage individuals to unlawfully purchase a qualified product.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7640
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
August 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting gun
industry members from directly advertising, marketing, promoting,
designing, or selling certain firearm-related products in a manner
that would encourage unlawful purchase, possession, or use by underage
individuals
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 898-b of the general business law, as added by
2 chapter 237 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 898-b. Prohibited activities. 1. No gun industry member, by conduct
4 either unlawful in itself or unreasonable under all the circumstances
5 shall knowingly or recklessly create, maintain or contribute to a condi-
6 tion in New York state that endangers the safety or health of the public
7 through the sale, manufacturing, importing or marketing of a qualified
8 product.
9 2. All gun industry members who manufacture, market, import or offer
10 for wholesale or retail sale any qualified product in New York state
11 shall establish and utilize reasonable controls and procedures to
12 prevent its qualified products from being possessed, used, marketed or
13 sold unlawfully in New York state.
14 3. (a) No gun industry member shall advertise, market, promote,
15 design, or sell any qualified product in a manner that reasonably
16 appears to support, recommend, or encourage an underage individual to
17 unlawfully purchase, possess, or use a qualified product in the state.
18 (b) In determining whether the conduct of a gun industry member, as
19 described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, reasonably appears to
20 support, recommend, or encourage underage individuals to unlawfully
21 purchase a qualified product, a court shall consider the totality of the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13020-01-3
S. 7640 2
1 circumstances, including, but not limited to, whether the marketing,
2 advertising, promotion, design, or sale:
3 (i) uses caricatures that reasonably appear to be underage individuals
4 or cartoon characters;
5 (ii) offers brand name merchandise for underage individuals, includ-
6 ing, but not limited to, clothing, toys, games, or stuffed animals, that
7 promotes a gun industry member or qualified product;
8 (iii) offers qualified products in sizes, colors, or designs that are
9 specifically designed to be used by, or appeal to, underage individuals;
10 (iv) is part of a marketing, advertising, or promotion campaign
11 designed with the intent to appeal to underage individuals;
12 (v) uses images or depictions of underage individuals in advertising
13 or marketing, or promotion materials, to depict the use of qualified
14 products; or
15 (vi) is placed in a publication created for the purpose of reaching an
16 audience that is predominantly composed of underage individuals and not
17 intended for a more general audience composed of adults.
18 (c) This subdivision shall not apply to communications or promotional
19 materials regarding lawful recreational activity with a qualified prod-
20 uct such as, but not limited to, practice shooting at targets on estab-
21 lished public or private target ranges or hunting, fishing, or trapping
22 in accordance with the environmental conservation law.
23 § 2. Section 898-a of the general business law is amended by adding a
24 new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
25 7. "Underage individual" means an individual below the lawful age to
26 purchase, possess, or use a qualified product in the state.
27 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
