The governor of New York state, Andrew Cuomo, on Tuesday signed into law one of America’s toughest gun control measures, the first to be enacted since the mass shooting last month at an elementary school in neighbouring Connecticut. The bill passed the Democratic-led state assembly on Tuesday afternoon, a day after clearing the Republican-majority state senate. It expands the state’s ban on assault weapons and has new measures to keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill people. “People who are mentally ill should not have access to guns. That’s common sense,” Cuomo said. “That’s probably the hallmark of this bill.” The bill also limits ammunition magazines to seven rounds. Cuomo described higher-capacity magazines as “nonsensical to a civil society.” “No one hunts with an assault rifle,” he said. “No one needs ten bullets to kill a deer. End the madness.” Cuomo pressed for passage of the bill after a gunman killed 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, just over one month ago.
