New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pushing for a five-part package of new gun-control laws in negotiations with state legislative leaders, including making the assault-weapons ban stricter and requiring gun owners to renew their licenses every five years, according to people familiar with the talks.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday Associated Press


Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, is eager to be among the first governors to sign new gun laws in the aftermath of the Dec. 14 school shooting in Newtown, Conn., and a Christmas Eve shooting in Webster, N.Y. He hopes to propose a new package of gun laws in his annual state of the state address Wednesday.

Mr. Cuomo is pushing for five items, according to people close to the negotiations.

The one that could generate the most opposition is requiring gun owners to periodically renew their licenses. Currently, gun licenses in New York state are "generally valid until revoked," except in New York City where they must be renewed every three years, and in suburban Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties, where they must be renewed every five years, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.


Mr. Cuomo also plans to propose broadening the definition of what kind of gun falls under the state's assault-weapon ban and would seek to limit the size of gun ammunition magazines, the people said.

They also said Mr. Cuomo is pushing for a law that would require single sales of large quantities of ammunition to be flagged for law enforcement, and that his plan would increase criminal penalties for crimes committed with illegal weapons, something the Senate Republican conference has pressed for as a requirement of any deal.

Mr. Cuomo is also seeking a new law to address the role mental health can play in gun crimes. The talks on these issues were still fluid Tuesday evening, but Mr. Cuomo had considered requiring mental-health screening and more rigorous background-check requirements for gun owners, people familiar with the matter said. Late Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the leader of the Democrat-led Assembly, said the gun-control negotiations also included talks on strengthening Kendra's Law, a 1999 law that requires people court-ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment to comply with that treatment or risk a period of involuntary commitment.

Mr. Cuomo talked about some of the gun-control proposals at a fundraiser birthday party he held on Monday at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, according to a person who attended the party. In his remarks, he didn't mention the five-year interval for gun permitting, although he did call for licenses to be made renewable statewide. He also didn't mention increased penalties for gun crime, an attendee said.

New York already has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, and is one of only seven states with an assault-weapons ban.

Gun-rights advocates are expected to fight efforts to tighten the state's laws. "The solution is not more control of guns," said Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association. "The solution is control of the mentally ill and placing armed guards in the schools."

Mr. Cuomo has been discussing possible gun legislation in interviews and news conferences since the Newtown shooting. Late on Tuesday, the governor's aides and legislative leaders were still holding meetings to discuss the gun proposals.

Late on Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said Democrats were willing to consider Republican ideas on increasing penalties for illegal gun crime. "That has always been there," he told reporters outside the Assembly chamber.

Mr. Silver offered few specifics of the gun laws package but said it would include changes to the assault-weapons ban.

"I think we'll come up with a reasonable definition [of assault weapons] and a reasonable closing of loopholes," he said, adding that he believed a deal on the gun legislation was close at hand. "I think it's achievable."