Firearms in New York

Firearms
-Pistols
-Combat Rifles
-Rifles
-Shotgun
-Submachine gun (Carbine)
-Machine Gun
-Grenade Launcher
-Auxiliary




Legal Ramifications
In order to obtain some weapons and pieces of equipment, you will need more than merely possessing money. Some weapons are essentially illegal, or so heavily restricted that they are almost impossible to obtain, particularly in New York. Obtaining these weapons will require more than sheer cash, as the local restrictions, and in some case federal restrictions on the weapons make obtaining them require more involvement. To obtain these weapons, in addition to resources, you require either status in a government affiliated organization (I.E. police, military, politics) or the blackmarket merit. In order to obtain these weapons, you need a combination of resources and the appropriate additional merit and story element; so for instance, if you wanted to purchase a fully automatic rifle, with a resource requirement of 4, you could use blackmarket 3 and resources 1 to obtain it, or Status: Police 2 and resources 2. While you do not have to have an equal amount of both merits equal to the weapon's resource rating, and you can use a combination of both, you have to have a rating of at least 1 in both merits. While some weapon's possess certain exceptions, below are certain groups of weapons that inherently require the above described requirements. There are also potentially additional restrictions that may come up during the story, such as a police officer's weapon having difficult being used outside of legal law enforcement use, a criminal being charged with a serious offense after being caught with the illegal weapon, or a rich civilian having their gun rights revoked due to a random complaint from a politician. 



Non-restricted: While not true in all circumstances, weapon's with under 10 rounds (or certain weapon's under 7) and generally revolvers, break-actions, bolt-actions, and pump actions are not restricted weapons. Certain features or accessories, such as forward grips, thumbhole stocks, muzzle breaks, suppressors and other items are also banned. Due to strict restrictions on firearm's in New York, it is fundamentally more difficult to acquire weapon's that do not fit within New York law. This either requires connections, lots of money, or access to the black market. While the black market for firearms is thriving, it comes with considerable risk. Weapon's shipped in from out of state or out of the country are commonly used by criminals, but come with their own risks of being caught or dealing with the criminals who sell them. Not all sources are equal; for instance, a police officer may be allowed access to certain weapons, but they will be registered, and thus the weapons will be able to have their ballistics compared to the local database if they are used outside of official use. The military has greater access to certain weaponry, but these come with even greater strings attached, often not allowing you to even carry them outside the base. The best options are from political favors or the black market, but these also consequently carry their own risks, both with the ease of how they're lost and the scrutiny of the public eye. While legally shooting someone may not carry risk if handled correctly, politically it could distance your allies from you, and make you be perceived as a potential criminal, which has the potential to lower your status. Any of your status's, if compromised, by the use of the weapon or otherwise, could cause you to lose the merit. The blackmarket merit is the least likely to be compromised, but still comes with the considerable legal risk, including simply being caught with them. Carrying weapon's also require a permit, and many weapons are simply banned from this. 


Assault Weapons: New York currently possesses an assault weapon's ban, which prohibits a number of accessories (such as adjustable or folding stocks), and weapons which can accept more than 10 rounds. While largely cosmetic in nature, these laws inherently restrict the weapon's an individual can legally purchase, and have severe restrictions on semiautomatic weapon's. Revolvers, bolt actions and other manually operated weapon's are generally exempt from these requirements, but no weapon can hold more than 10 rounds, and shotguns can not hold more than 5. Due to the rarity of these weapon's or the difficulty obtaining them, they can be quite expensive, and must be registered with the government. As they are not federally banned, they tend to be easier to get ahold of. 


SBR (Short Barreled Rifle): Any rifle, or firearm with a barrel shorter than 16 inches (or shotgun shorter than 18 inches), possessing a stock, is considered an SBR. While not illegal, they require tacit approval from law enforcement and a 200 dollar tax-stamp to be legal. According to New York law, any "pistol" must have an Unloaded weight of 50 oz (1.4 kg) or more, meaning that most rifles will not fit in to this category. According to federal law, a weapon must be registered with the government as an SBR if it possesses a stock, or a device to rest your shoulder on. While the classification varies, in general shouldering any weapon automatically qualifies it as a rifle. Thus carbines with a length shorter than 26 inches, a barrel shorter than 16 inches, and/or not fitting the other criteria for pistol according to New York law are banned, making these weapons difficult to conceal or hide.


Fully Automatic Weapons: Fully automatic weapon's are illegal by federal law. The only exception to this rule are weapons transferable before 1986. Due to their rarity, they tend to be extremely expensive, and require a sheriff to sign off on the 200 dollar tax stamp for the weapon. In some circumstances these tax stamps can be denied, often without reasons. To ensure the transfer of such a weapon to another person, you often need connections with local law enforcement to give their tacit seal of approval, as many can deny access to the weapon even if you have already paid for it. The only other way to obtain the weapon is from an approved security company, law enforcement agency or military unit. Each of these require good standing in the organization, and permissions can be revoked if you lose access to these merits.


Destructive Devices and AOW's: Destructive Devices apply to a broad range of weapon's specified in the 1968 Gun Control Act, however primarily it applies to explosives. Any explosive projectile, be it a high explosive round or a grenade launcher, is inherently classified as a destructive device. These are obscenely expensive, requiring a 200 dollar tax-stamp, not only for the weapons but for the projectiles themselves. A grenade launcher not only requires a 200 dollar tax-stamp, but each and every round, and it also requires tacit approval from law enforcement. This also includes armor piercing rounds, and a host of other devices, such as auxiliary devices, like zip guns. Technically, some weapons fall in to both categories of Destructive Devices and Any Other Weapon's (AOW's), however any-other-weapons can apply to disguised firearms such as suitcase guns or pencils that fire bullets, and other strange oddities, such as home-made guns.


Concealed Carry license: In order to carry a firearm in public, you need to have a certain status in an organization (such as being a police officer or security guard), or to have a carry permit, otherwise known as a Concealed Carry License, or Concealed Handgun License. Generally these licenses allow you to legally carry permissible handguns in public, but are extremely difficult to obtain, even if you otherwise meet all the legal criteria. For individuals with even minor criminal records, this can become virtually impossible. This makes it more difficult to carry firearms in public, and can make your weapon choices more careful when moving through certain public areas.