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Cuomo Agrees To Suspend Background Checks For Ammunition Sales

ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A plan for mandatory background checks to buy ammunition has been suspended.

The Cuomo Administration has agreed to suspend a plan to demand background checks for ammunition sales, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reports. The requirement is part of the so-called Safe Act, enacted in 2013.

Cuomo Agrees To Suspend Background Checks For Ammunition Sales

"That law was passed by the Legislature, signed by the Governor," Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "It was the right thing to do and we just can't go backwards; especially after Newtown, which was the inspiration for that law."

A spokesperson for the NRA praised the suspension, as did the senate's republican majority leader. But democrats have called it ill-advised and outrageous.

In a memo, the Administration blames a lack of adequate technology for the background check suspension.

The New York Legislature passed the tougher gun regulations in January 2013, weeks after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

The law broadened the definition of an assault weapon, forced gun owners to renew their licenses every five years, stiffened penalties for using a gun in the commission of a crime and for bringing a gun on school property, among other provisions.

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