Hochul Just Called 18-Year-Old Adults “Teenagers” and Said New York’s Handgun Ban Isn’t Moving
On September 19, Governor Kathy Hochul posted from the official @GovKathyHochul account: “Not in New York. No teenager should be able to walk into a gun store and buy a handgun. Our laws don’t allow it and that’s not changing.” Bearing Arms published the wire this morning. The post was a reply to the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel opinion that 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1) and (c)(1) may not be enforced as a dealer felony against sales to law-abiding 18-to-20-year-olds.
- Official @GovKathyHochul post, Sept. 19, 2026: “No teenager should be able to walk into a gun store and buy a handgun.” “Our laws don’t allow it and that’s not changing.”
- Bearing Arms published the report Sept. 21. The post replied to coverage of the Sept. 17 OLC opinion on 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1) and (c)(1).
- OLC opinion is federal criminal-enforcement advice. It does not repeal New York’s state under-21 purchase rules.
- AAG Harmeet K. Dhillon quote-tweeted the governor from @AAGDhillon on Sept. 20. No new DOJ complaint against New York is in that post.
- State age bans remain litigated separately. Tweet, not a signed bill.
Bearing Arms dated Tom Knighton’s report 8:29 a.m. September 21, 2026. The governor’s words are on the official account. @GovKathyHochul, September 19: “Not in New York. No teenager should be able to walk into a gun store and buy a handgun.” Second line: “Our laws don’t allow it and that’s not changing.” The post quoted coverage of the Office of Legal Counsel memorandum that Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser signed September 17. That opinion is about the federal dealer statutes. It does not repeal New York’s own age line.
Hochul’s vocabulary is the tell. Eighteen is the age of majority for the draft, for the vote, and for an adult indictment in New York. The OLC opinion’s opening cites that same list. The governor’s post collapses those adults into “teenager” and announces that state law will not follow the Department’s reading of the federal felony. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon quote-tweeted the governor from the official @AAGDhillon account September 20. That is a stare, not a filed complaint. New York can keep a state purchase age until a court says otherwise. The federal opinion does not ship a Glock to a Buffalo gun shop for a 19-year-old. What it does is strip the U.S. Attorney of the 1968 dealer count. Hochul just said the state count stays.
"Hochul’s official account called an 18-year-old a teenager and said New York’s handgun counter is not moving."← More Stories
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