Gun control legislation being proposed in New York could require anyone hoping to buy a firearm to disclose their social media and internet search history, according to a report.
The bill, drafted by state Sen. Kevin Parker and Brooklyn borough President Eric Adams, both Democrats, would allow officials to review up to three years’ worth of social media and internet search history before a gun license is approved and renewed, ABC Action News reported this week.
In addition, the Senate bill would give authorities permission to look for “profane slurs used or biased language used to describe race, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, disability or sexual orientation; threatening health or safety of another person, or an act of terrorism,” according to ABC News-affiliate WHAM.
The proposal, which is in committee but has not been scheduled for a vote, has already received pushback from anti-gun control advocates and constitutional lawyers. Paul McQuillen, director of the Buffalo chapter of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, also told ABC Action News his group was not ready to support the plan yet.
“The Bill of Rights is totally under assault with this particular bill,” Tim Andrews, president of the New York Shooters Committee on Political Education, told NBC News-affiliate WHEC. “It’s an invasion of privacy. Some would see it as a Fourth Amendment violation, and a violation of the First Amendment, freedom of speech.”
[“source=cnbc”]
