Gov. Kathy Hochul proposes new gun controls, including on homemade '3D guns'

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed new laws Wednesday to prevent the building of homemade "3D guns" and the conversion of handguns into automatic weapons, focusing on safety on the first day State Assembly and Senate members returned to work for the 2026 legislative session.

Hochul, a Democrat who is up for reelection this fall, proposed requiring companies that make 3D printers to include and install software that blocks the production of guns and components.

She also proposed stopping manufacturers from producing guns that can be modified by "pistol converters" into rapid-fire weapons, or as the governor called them, "illegal machine guns."

The proposals are likely to receive broad support in a Democrat-led legislature that has approved an array of anti-gun-violence measures.

The Senate and Assembly were called to order at noon Wednesday to launch a legislative session that runs through the first week of June. Not surprisingly, Democratic majority leaders called "affordability" their top priority, saying they would focus on expanding child care and address housing and energy prices.

They honed in on federal funding cuts from the Trump administration, especially an announced reduction in child care spending.

"We will not stay silent or stand by as those in Washington destroy all we’ve fought for," Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) said.

Republicans, in the minority in each house, said the way to make New York more affordable is to reduce taxes and spending. But they realize those policies are unlikely to gain traction.

"My expectation is that, unfortunately, we will have a budget that goes up, because I don't expect my colleagues across the aisle to understand that making things more affordable doesn't mean spending more money," Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick (R-Malverne) said. "It means putting more money in the pockets of our constituents."

The governor is slated to outline her 2026 agenda Tuesday during her annual State of the State address. Hochul will be looking to counter potential federal cuts from the Trump administration while negotiating with a state legislature that is often more liberal than she is.

As is now customary, the governor began unveiling her initiatives about a week ahead of time. She has said she wants to end state taxes on tips received by service workers and install more protections for minors using the internet.

On Wednesday, she turned to gun laws, particularly weapons fashioned from plastic in a 3D printer — so-called "ghost guns" because they lack serial numbers or identifying information.

Her package of proposals includes what she called a "first-in-the-nation policy" that would require "3D printer manufacturers to ensure their products are equipped with technology that blocks the printer from creating firearms and component parts."

She also wants to make it a crime to intentionally "sell, distribute, or possess digital instructions to illegally manufacture or produce a firearm or component parts without a license." 

Hochul appeared on stage at an Albany community center with an array of district attorneys who support her proposals.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said a crackdown on homemade weapons is necessary because they are proliferating.

"You can sit at your kitchen table with a 3D printer, (then) go do the dishes and some other things and have a gun printed when you get back," Bragg said, standing before a display of a printer and several brightly colored gun molds that looked like toys. 

Bragg said that if counterfeit dollar bills were printed as easily at home, "we'd say this is crazy" and change the laws to stop it. 

Hochul also wants to ban the sale of handguns that can be altered with "pistol converters." State troopers on hand said these converters are especially popular attachments to Glock pistols — and enable a person to fire up to 30 rounds by pulling the trigger just once and holding it.

Hochul acknowledged that many people bring illegal guns into the state, but she contended that if New York and other big states successfully pressure manufacturers, the spread of pistol converters can be stemmed.

Newsday's Keshia Clukey and Steve Hughes contributed to this story.

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy