New York congressman Ritchie Torres is calling on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to adopt a “complete and comprehensive prohibition of ghost guns” in the wake of the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson; a push that will come as a surprise to many Second Amendment supporters in the state who believe that New York has already criminalized home-built guns.
In a letter to Hochul obtained by the New York Post, however, Torres claims that there are two "loopholes" in the state's "ghost gun" laws that must be closed.
“First, the law prohibits the possession, sale, and transfer of ghost guns but fails to criminalize the manufacturing of a 3D-printed ghost gun.”
“Second, the law prohibits the manufacturing of assault rifles, high-capacity magazines, and machine guns but the prohibition of gun manufacturing fails to include 3D-printed ghost guns,” he added.
The laws already in place in New York are bad enough as is, but Torres' "loopholes" are even more constitutionally dubious. As things stand, someone can be incarcerated simply for possessing an unserialized and unpermitted firearm. Just ask Dexter Taylor, who's currently sitting in a maximum security prison in New York for the "crime" of making and possessing his own guns at home.
Despite the national tradition of gunmaking that predates the Second Amendment, New York already criminalizes the possession of homebuilt and unserialized firearms, as well as their transfer, so what is Torres hoping to accomplish by adding manufacturing to the statute?
My guess is that he's hoping to score some political points against Hochul. I thought it was kind of odd that the Democratic congressman was calling out Hochul for these supposed loopholes instead of calling on the Democrat-controlled legislature to pass his proposed gun law, but then I ran across another story from the New York Post earlier this month where Torres was criticizing Hochul.
Bronx Rep. and potential gubernatorial hopeful Ritchie Torres touted himself as a critic of shady Albany politics Tuesday while calling for a probe into Gov. Kathy Hochul’s massive $9 billion home-care program.
But the outspoken congressman — zeroing in on a change Hochul made to the program — refused to criticize a powerful state healthcare union that heavily advocated for the revision.
Torres called for state and federal authorities to investigate Hochul’s Department of Health over accusations it illegally steered a lucrative contract to a firm involving its Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP.
CDPAP had been operating with the help of hundreds of private businesses and nonprofits working as payroll agents between Medicaid and the caregivers — with minimal oversight.
... “I’m not interested in a popularity contest,” said Torres, who has been on a recent tear against Hochul, to reporters Tuesday. “I’m not an Albany insider. I’m not a creature of Albany. I’m not here to go along to get along. I’m here to be a teller of hard truths.
It sounds like Torres is very much interested in a popularity contest if he's considering running against Hochul for governor. As he told Politico a few weeks ago:
“I fear that Hochul may be the new Biden,” Torres said. “She may be in denial about the depth of her vulnerabilities in 2026. In the case of Biden, instead of speaking out early, we waited until it was too late. Let’s avoid repeating history and let’s avoid sleepwalking toward disaster and defeat.”
Torres has recently stepped up his criticism of Hochul, who suffers from basement-level favorable ratings with New York voters statewide.
He worries the governor is not up to the task of winning a second full term as GOP Rep. Mike Lawler also weighs a bid for governor. Hochul “could easily lose to Mike Lawler” in 2026, Torres said.
I'm no fan of Hochul, but Torres' demand to close these non-existent loopholes is about public relations, not public safety.
The sad (and scary) thing about Torres' latest attack on the governor is that if he does decide to challenge her for the Democratic nomination in 2026 he'll apparently be painting her as too soft on gun control issues. New York needs an executive that will recognize and respect our right to keep and bear arms, but Torres would treat our Second Amendment rights as a danger that must be eradicated, just as Hochul has done during her tenure. I don't know if Mike Lawler will be the Republican nominee in 2026, but any candidate who's drawn the ire of the gun control lobby is bound to be far better for gun owners and their Second Amendment rights than either Torres or Hochul.
