ALBANY, N.Y. - Walk inside of Dave Petronis' gun shop in Mechancville this week and you'll see a lot of empty spots.
"People have been coming in here who never thought about owning a gun and are now buying firearms," explained Petronis.
He is expecting even more traffic through his store after Govorner Cuomo unveils his plan for tougher gun regulations, even a possible ban, during the State of the State address on Wednesday.
In the aftermath of last month's school massacre in Newtown, Conn., Cuomo and the Democrat-led Assembly are pushing for bans on all assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
Cuomo believes the current ban on assault rifles that have pistol grips and bayonet mounts have too many loopholes. He is expected to discuss a broader ban on assault rifles,
defining those firearms as having high-capacity magazines and other
characteristics of a military-style weapon.
Albany resident Diane Campion is no stranger to guns, but she feels no one should be collecting that type of fire arm. "I grew up around fire arms, my father was a hunter," she added.
She wants to see the state tighten its grip on gun control. "I think the mass shootings we've seen are because they are so readily available," she said.
Petronis said, "If the bad guys have them, the good guys ought to have more."
"Certainly semi-automatics, high-capacity clips, should not be sold in gun shows, Kmart, Walmart. I hope he'll address that," Diane said.
Petronis says he's practically sold out of his AR-style firearm, and as more gun owners hear about the proposed plan on gun control, he suspects his last one won't be on the shelf for much longer.
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