By Matthew DeLuca, NBC News
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is widely expected to propose new restrictions on assault weapons in his State of the State address Wednesday afternoon -- a response to the recent mass shootings in Aurora, Colo., Newtown, Conn., and elsewhere.
Cuomo previously described New York?s assault weapons regulations as having ?more holes than Swiss cheese.?
The topic is likely to incite heated debate in New York, which is one of seven states with some restrictions on the purchase and possession of assault weapons.
Cuomo pointed toward stricter gun measures in a December radio interview on WGDJ-AM.
?Confiscation could be an option,? Cuomo said in that interview. ?Mandatory sale to the state could be an option. Permitting could be an option ? keep your gun but permit it.??
Those comments got the attention of gun rights activists, who posted a petition to the White House?s web site on December 25. The petition calls any legislation restricting the sale and ownership of semi-automatic firearms ?a clear violation of our rights as a free people.? The petition had 7,973 signatures as of late Wednesday morning.
Cuomo's aides have reportedly said the confiscation idea won't work, and he hasn't mentioned it since the radio interview.
Cuomo?s speech comes as lawmakers in many other states and at the federal level direct more attention to the issue of gun control. In Washington,?Vice President Biden was holding the first in a series of gatherings at the White House aimed at trying to create a consensus on what to do about gun violence.?
Cuomo's effort in New York may be aided by the fact he's riding a wave of popularity. A Siena College poll conducted in November found that Cuomo is viewed favorably by 72 percent of New Yorkers.
The state?s District Attorneys Association released a letter on Tuesday that called for a high-capacity magazine ban and laws that would allow courts to revoke the firearm licenses of people found to be mentally incapacitated. The attorneys proposed similar measures on the federal level.
?We in government must do more for ordinary citizens, in New York and around the country,? Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., said in the letter. ?The proposals we support would strengthen our ability to protect New Yorkers against senseless gun violence by keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of criminals and emotionally disturbed individuals.?
On Monday, more than one hundred state legislators called for new laws that would cut down on gun violence. Their proposed package calls for universal background checks on all gun sales, a more stringent ban on assault weapons, and a ban on the sale and possession of magazines that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition.
Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos announced his own gun proposal on Saturday, suggesting mandatory sentences for possession of an illegal weapon and increased penalties for carrying a firearm in certain areas, like on school grounds.
?No new package of gun safety laws can be truly effective without including provisions that go after illegal guns and punish the people who use them against others,? Skelos said in a press release Saturday.
A spokesman for the governor knocked down Skelos? proposal because it did not call for an outright ban on assault weapons.
?Any gun policy that doesn?t ban assault weapons ignores the reality of gun violence and insults the common sense of New Yorkers,? spokesman Josh Vlasto said.
Cuomo, who has gone hunting and owns a shotgun, said in the December radio interview that the interests of sportsmen would be considered in any proposed legislation.
?I don?t think legitimate sportsmen are going to say, ?I need an assault weapon to go hunting,?? Cuomo said. ?There is a balance here ? I understand the rights of gun owners; I understand the rights of hunters.?
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