BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

Governor Kathy Hochul secured another policy victory with the passing of the state budget, implanting a ban on "easily modifiable" Glock-style handguns. 

The policy change was tucked in one document of the budget on page 10, a small section of language that has major implications for gun owners throughout the state. 

The bill passed the Senate with a 39-22 vote, while the Assembly passed the bill by a 93-47 vote. 

Though a review period will be in place for nine months, with the language then taking effect 90 days following the review period, officials are already prosecuting a number of criminals who have illegally manufactured, purchased and distributed "Glock switches," devices they say  can be used to "easily modify" such handguns into fully-automatic firearms. 

State officials say the effective date will be no later than June 1, 2027, at which point any non-compliant firearms can no longer be legally sold by firearm dealers. 

Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James have both been vocal about their opposition to such devices and firearms being in the hands of civilians, saying they pose a clear threat to the public. 

Though the cruciform trigger bar design originated with Glock, many other manufacturers have since adopted the design due to its simplicity and reliability. 

State officials took action last year to formally ban Glock switches, a move that was already completed at the federal level several years prior. 

Once the new law is in effect, sales of such firearms will largely not be prohibited with the exception of military and law enforcement members, as well as certain private party transfers through firearms dealers. 

No language in the bill explicitly detailed whether those who owned the firearms prior to the effective date would be grandfathered in, as has been detailed in some reports, though some state lawmakers have said that will in fact be the case. 

New York has a history of changing such laws after the fact, however, such as the "high capacity magazine" grandfather provision from the 2012 SAFE Act, which was struck in a gun control package in 2022. 

Lawmakers also took action to address what they say is a growing scourge of 3D printed firearms and components flooding the streets. 

Moving forward, manufacturers of such devices will need to embed coding that will not allow firearm specific files to be uploaded to the printers. 

The use, sale, distribution and downloading of such files has also become a crime prosecutable under the state penal law. 

All manufacturers must take "reasonable controls and procedures" to ensure such files are not usable or distributed. 

The inclusion of firearm policies such as the Glock-style firearm ban and 3D printer regulations fall in line with a number of other states that have sought to regulate the firearms further, including California, Connecticut and Maryland. 

Pro-gun organizations, including the National Rifle Association and Firearms Policy Coalition, have filed lawsuits against each state following the passing of the laws. 

Following the recent signing of a ban in Maryland, FPC President Brandon Combs issued a statement, saying states were "declaring war on an entire class of constitutionally protected handguns and peaceable people who want to own them." 

"This ban is immoral, unconstitutional, and tyrannical. FPC and our Grassroots Army are going to force Maryland to respect the Second Amendment, full stop," he said.