New York Proposes Ban on Body Armor with Bill A. 352

You may have heard about the new bill being proposed to prohibit the ownership of body armor and protective gear in the state of New York. As a valued customer of Body Armor Direct, we will keep you updated as the situation unfolds and clear up any questions you may have in regards to how it affects you. In the meantime, here are the basics.

What Is Bill A. 352?
Bill A. 352 criminalizes the purchase and possession of body vests in New York, which state law defines as soft body armor that provides wearers with Level I or greater protection (the lowest common rating for body armor) intended to stop low kinetic energy rounds such as a .380.

What If I Already Own Body Armor?
If the bill is passed, body armor owners would be required to turn in their life-saving gear to law enforcement agencies such as local or state police, FBI or DEA within 15 days after the law takes effect.

What Is The Penalty?
Under the proposed legislation, the first offense for the purchase or possession of a body vest would be a Class A misdemeanor, which may result in up to a year in prison. Subsequent offenses would constitute a Class E felony, which carries a potential sentence of up to four years in prison.

I’m Not From New York. Why Do I Care?
This bill is not the first time your right to purchase body armor has been threatened. In 2019, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer announced he would push legislation to ban sophisticated armor for all civilians. No major changes have passed, however, if Bill A.352 gains momentum it could start a national trend within other blue state governments.

What Can You Do? 
Second Amendment Advocates have begun speaking out against the proposed legislation. The Firearms Policy Coalition created the website BodyArmorBan.com to mobilize against the proposal. The group says on its website that Assemblyman Democrat Johnathan Jacobson’s proposed bill “deprives New Yorkers of their right to passive defense by instituting a confiscatory ban on body armor.” If you are interested in learning more about their Take Action Now initiative, you can visit: https://www.firearmspolicy.org/ny-a352

How Can I Follow This?
We will continue to update you as we receive any new information in this developing situation. For now, we suggest continuing to buy your gear to help curb the trend, and exercise your right to sign the various petitions in place to protect your Second Amendment rights.