Every day across America, thousands of police officers wear bulletproof vests to protect themselves from violent criminals. However, on May 14, 2022, body armor protected mass murderer Payton Gendron as he shot and killed 10 Black individuals at a Buffalo supermarket.
In response to the Tops Markets massacre, New York State enacted a law banning the sale of body armor to most private citizens. This law is now being challenged by gun rights advocates who argue that it is unconstitutional. A man from Lake View, along with a Las Vegas-based gun rights organization, has filed a federal lawsuit to legalize the purchase and ownership of bulletproof vests and other body armor for private citizens in New York.
The Firearms Policy Coalition and Benjamin Heeter of Lake View claim that the state’s body armor ban infringes on the rights of law-abiding citizens who wish to protect themselves from criminals. The lawsuit argues that body armor is a means of self-defense, not a weapon. “New York’s body armor ban shows that the state’s commitment to authoritarianism has collapsed into absurdity, making it a crime to buy and use simple personal protective equipment,” said Brandon Combs, president of the Firearms Policy Coalition.
Governor Kathy Hochul signed the body armor ban into law in July 2022, just weeks after Gendron, 18, wore body armor he purchased online as he carried out his attack. According to Buffalo police, store security officer Aaron Salter Jr. fired a shot that struck Gendron’s body armor, but Gendron was unharmed and continued his assault, killing Salter and others.
Critics argue that the new law does not ban the sale of the type of hard body armor plates used by Gendron. Governor Hochul has indicated that she will work with the State Legislature to amend the law to ensure it effectively prevents the purchase of such armor.
“Wearing that body armor on that day allowed Gendron to keep shooting people after Aaron Salter shot him,” recalled former Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn. He noted that while it is rare for criminals to wear body armor during shootings, some law-abiding citizens, such as store clerks in high-crime areas, might also want to wear body armor for protection.
Gendron is currently serving a life sentence in state prison after pleading guilty to murder and domestic terrorism charges. He still faces federal charges that could result in the death penalty.
Combs criticized New York’s laws, claiming they have gone “far off the deep end.” He expressed confidence in overturning the body armor ban, emphasizing the protection of constitutionally guaranteed rights.
The lawsuit also highlights that body armor has saved the lives of over 3,000 law enforcement officers, according to a study by the National Institute for Justice. It states that body armor is commonly used for lawful purposes in every state, with American civilians spending $41.9 million on body armor in 2022, a figure projected to rise to $69.2 million by 2034. The lawsuit argues that a negligible percentage of criminals choose to wear body armor while committing crimes.
Since 1984, it has been a felony in New York to wear a “ballistic vest” while committing a crime with a gun, but only a handful of people have been charged with this crime over the past 40 years.
According to Spartan Armor Systems, an Arizona-based body armor company, New York is the only state that bans most private citizens from buying body armor. The company notes that many states have laws preventing criminals from using body armor.
The effort to repeal New York’s restrictions on body armor follows a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a federal ban on bump stocks. This device, banned by President Donald Trump after the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, increases the rapid-fire rate of a semiautomatic weapon. The Las Vegas shooter used a bump stock to kill 60 people and injure about 850 others, firing more than 1,000 rounds into a crowd in just 11 minutes.
