Philip Kamrass / AP

Gun enthusiasts gather during the annual New York State Arms Collectors Association Albany Gun Show in this Jan. 26, 2013, photo.

Key measures of New York's new gun law are set to kick in, with owners of guns now classified as assault weapons required to register the firearms and new limits on the number of bullets allowed in magazines.

As the new provisions take effect today, New York's affiliate of the National Rifle Association said it plans to head to court to seek an immediate halt to the magazine limit.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo calls those and other provisions in the state's new gun law common sense while dismissing criticisms he says come from "extreme fringe conservatives" who claim the government has no right to regulate guns.

"Yes, they are against it, but they are the extremists and the extremists shouldn't win, especially on this issue when it is so important to the majority," Cuomo said in a radio interview last week. "In politics, we have to be willing to take on the extremists, otherwise you will see paralysis."

New York's new gun restrictions, the first in the nation passed following December's massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, limit state gun owners to no more than seven bullets in magazines, except at competitions or firing ranges.

The new regulations in New York commence as the U.S. Senate prepares to debate expanded gun legislation and weeks after Connecticut joined Colorado in signing into law tougher new gun restrictions.

The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, the state's NRA affiliate, has a pending federal lawsuit against the new provisions. It plans to ask a judge Monday for an immediate halt to the magazine limit. The new registrations, required over the next year, will be the group's focus later.

The law violates the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens "to keep commonly possessed firearms" at home for self-defense and for other lawful purposes, the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association said in court papers. It is advising members to obey the law in the meantime.

"We are lawful and legal citizens of New York state and we always obey the law," association President Tom King said. "It's as simple as that."

State Police planned to post forms on their website for registration starting Monday. Owners of those guns, now banned from in-state sales, are required within a year to register them. Alternatively, they can legally sell them to a licensed dealer or out of state by next Jan. 15.

Rich Davenport, recording secretary of the Erie County Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, said their nearly 11,000 members are united in opposition to the law, which he considers a hasty, illogical and emotional response to the Newtown, Conn., school shooting. He also questioned likely compliance with the registration requirement.

"I'm guessing it'll be pretty low," said Davenport, a longtime hunter. He said that even though he's not personally affected by the registration provision, "I'm offended as an American."

The toughest part of the new statute — banning in-state sales of those guns newly classified as "assault weapons" — immediately took effect Jan. 15. The new classification related to a single military-style feature, such as a pistol grip on semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines. Other listed features include a folding or thumbhole stock, bayonet mount, flash suppressor, or second protruding grip held by the non-trigger hand.

It requires owners to register an estimated 1 million guns previously not classified as assault weapons by April 15, 2014, though law enforcement officials acknowledge they don't know exactly how many such guns New Yorkers have.

The assault weapon definition also applies to some shotguns and handguns. They include shotguns that are semi-automatic, or self-loading, and have another feature, such as a folding stock, a second handgrip held by the non-shooting hand or the ability to accept a detachable magazine.

Also covered are semi-automatic pistols that can take detachable magazines and have another feature, such as a folding or thumbhole stock, a second handgrip and a threaded barrel that can accept a silencer.

Many county boards in New York have passed resolutions urging at least partial repeal of the law while warning that new registration requirements would be a costly burden on them.

Herkimer County Clerk Sylvia Rowan said Thursday she had received no registration forms for those guns. "There's a lot of confusion on this," she said.

Rowan noted that she had received few formal requests filed from the holders of the county's 12,000 pistol permits to exempt their information from public disclosure, something else authorized under the new law.

Passed Jan. 15, a month after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., the statute originally banned magazines with more than seven bullets effective April 15. Connecticut officials said that shooter Adam Lanza used a semi-automatic Bushmaster AR-15 and five 30-round magazines to kill 20 children and six adults in minutes.

However, acknowledging that manufacturers don't make seven-bullet magazines, the Cuomo administration and New York lawmakers amended their law on March 29, keeping 10-bullet magazines legal but generally illegal to load them with more than seven bullets.

The new Colorado bill, signed into law last month, bans ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.

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The sale of military-style weapons in Maryland has skyrocketed because of the concern they'll will be banned once the strict gun control bill passed by the Maryland General Assembly on Thursday goes into effect.

At Engage Armament in Rockville, there are only a few assault weapons left because so many have been sold in anticipation of gun restrictions.

Ammunition has gone up in price -- that is, if you can even find bullets in stock.

"Everything's been bought up and we've had ammunition that came right off the trucks," said A.J. Wynne, an employee at Engage Armament. "They'd say, 'What is that?' I'd say, '9 mm.' [They'd say,] 'I'll take it.' Right before we're even done booking guns in, it's already sold."

Geogre Heffner was in the store Friday, purchasing a handgun that he had ordered months ago.

"When I came here two months ago, there was nothing to be had," he said. "The store was completely empty. I thought someone had come in and robbed it. Nothing on the shelves hardly at all.... Completely sold out."

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence issued a statement saying: "We fully support Governor O'Malley's comprehensive legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly. His leadership in the area of gun licensing, restricting access to military-style assault weapons and gun magazines will save lives."

In Prince George's County, youth violence is a growing concern. Seven teens have been shot and killed in the county during this school year.

"As... a person that has kids and [is] concerned about youth violence, I think [gun control is] something that would be a great asset to my kids that are growing up now, in today's society," said Prince George's County resident Darnell Johnson.

But opinion is divided whether gun control is the answer.

"Personally, I think the problem is a little deeper," said Prince George's County resident Dexter Taylor."We need to catch some of these younger people... and try to keep them from going in that direction in the first place."

Deputies in northern California have discovered a massive cache of drugs, cars, and weapons, including a belt-fed machine gun and more than 100 pounds of marijuana, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s department announced on Wednesday.

A deputy uncovered the firearms on the 55-acre property of Ryan Floyd. They said 111 of them were stashed in a cave that had been camouflaged with rocks and brush; at least 20 of the weapons have been confirmed stolen, according to the sheriff’s office.

Among the weapons, many of which were loaded, was a fully automatic, World War II-era MG 42 caliber machine gun, along with a full belt of ammunition. Also in the cave were several assault-style rifles including Colt AR-15s, as well as sawed-off shotguns and Tech Nine and SKS assault weapons.

A number of the weapons are thought to be fully automatic, according to the sheriff’s office, and were fully loaded when found by a deputy.

“It was like enough for a small militia out there,” said Lt. Steve Knight of the Humboldt County Sheriff's office. “As far as why he was holding onto this large quantity of weapons, that’s the one million dollar question.”

Humboldt County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff's deputies recover weapons from a cave in northern California.

Floyd is a longtime resident of the Humboldt County area, Knight said.

The man may have amassed the weapons with plans of selling them on the black market, said Sheriff Michael Downey. “Based on what I saw, these were probably weapons obtained ... over the years either by theft or other means, and probably being sold on the black market somewhere along the way,” Downey said.

Also on the property in Garberville, Calif., deputies said they found jewelry that an area resident had reported stolen, according to the sheriff’s office, as well as stolen construction equipment including a tractor, a concrete cutter, an air compressor, and numerous chainsaws. Many of the items discovered had been reported stolen in the area, the sheriff’s office said.

A woman, Deanna McDonald, 33, and two small children were on the property at the time of the search, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies issued McDonald, who is not supposed to own a gun, a notice for possession of a loaded weapon.

In previous searches of the property over the past week, police made numerous other discoveries of contraband. Law enforcement first became interested in Floyd, 30, on Feb. 2, when a deputy tried to pull over a black Chevy pickup that was driving erratically. The truck, later found to have been reported stolen from a burglarized home, was discovered empty by police after plunging down a hillside and crashing into a tree. Deputies began to look for Floyd and Oregon resident Honey Walsh, 29, as persons of interest.

Deputies and county Drug Task Force agents searched Floyd’s residence on Flint Rock Road in Garberville five days later, and arrested the man on an outstanding no-bail felony warrant for narcotics possession. He is being held without bail, Downey said. A preliminary probation search yielded 45 pounds of dried marijuana, more than $10,000 in cash, and heroin, along with scales and drug paraphernalia. Also found was a handgun, body armor, and numerous high-capacity magazines full of ammunition.

Humboldt County Sheriff's Office

Some of the weapons recovered in Garberville, Calif.

Police also reported finding evidence of numerous vehicles, including one that was confirmed stolen, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

A second man, 48-year-old Gregory Benson, was also arrested on the property during the Feb. 7 search for illegal possession of ammunition and a firearm by a prohibited person.

As police continued to scour the property, they found a stolen trailer, more bulletproof vests, methamphetamine, and more high-capacity magazines along with thousands of rounds of ammunition. They also found numerous empty gun holsters and rifle cases, leading them to suspect there might be more weapons on the property, and the discovery of the cave stash.

Downey said he encountered Floyd’s father Wally, now deceased, multiple times on the sprawling property about a decade ago on drug and theft charges.

“This is a piece of property I had been to numerous times surrounding the same type of criminal activity,” Downey said.

A total of 117 pounds of marijuana have been seized on the property. The investigation is ongoing, and the California Highway Patrol is assisting the sheriff’s office in determining whether any of the other vehicles discovered on the property had been stolen.

“There’s so much property out there, it’s hard trying to figure out what’s stolen and what’s not stolen,” Knight said.

With assault weapons firmly in the crosshairs of state and federal lawmakers, gun-rights groups say they are not willing to give an inch when it comes to restricting access to the weapon of choice in recent mass shootings.

From arguments over what exactly defines an assault weapon to enthusiasts who say the guns are just plain fun to shoot, defenders of assault weapons say the White House and others are misguided in their focus on banning them.

“I can’t possibly imagine what logic people are following that somehow another law, just one more law, will solve these issues,” said Keith Morgan, president of the West Virginia Citizens Defense League, a pro-gun group.

“People are killed in greater number by cars, bats, hammers, hands, and feet,” he added. “Examining the tool and attempting to ban the tool will have absolutely no effect. We’re dealing with a people problem. We’ve got to find a people solution.”

President Obama on Wednesday called for a renewed ban on "military-style" assault weapons, among the most popular guns in America. They were used by both accused Aurora movie theater shooter James Holmes and Connecticut gunman Adam Lanza. But gun-rights advocates like Morgan argue that despite the guns’ roles in high-profile mass killings, they are used in a relatively small number of homicides.

First Read: Obama set to go big on guns

According to the FBI’s Unified Crime Report for 2011, handguns were used 6,220 of the 12,664 homicides reported. Rifles accounted for 323 homicides, with knives and other unnamed firearms making up most of the rest.

Julie Jacobson / AP

Sig Sauer representative Adam Painchaud explains one of the company's newest products, the MPX 9mm pistol caliber submachine gun, at the 35th annual SHOT Show, Jan. 15, in Las Vegas.

Other gun-rights advocates are willing to entertain a conversation about assault weapons, but they remain dubious.

“If someone can show me how it can save lives, we’ll look at anything,” said Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association. He remains unconvinced, however, that an assault weapons ban would have done anything to prevent mass shootings like that in Newtown, Conn.

“I don’t like a bunch of dead kids, so I don’t see why we waste time on stale policies,” Irvine said.

The debate about what works will play out in the halls of Congress as well as state capitals, but also in American living rooms.

A survey released this week by the Pew Research Center found generous support among most Americans for at least some new controls on guns. The poll found that a majority of the public – 55 percent – would favor a ban on assault weapons. That support broke somewhat along party lines, with 69 percent of Democrats and 44 percent of Republicans favoring a legislation restricting assault weapons.

California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York already place some prohibitions on assault weapons.

Support soars for tougher gun laws, surveys show

In California, which has some of the nation’s toughest regulations on assault weapons, the law lists 75 assault weapon types by name, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. California is also one of three states that employ a “one-feature” test to identify assault weapons, banning all weapons that have one military-style feature, such as a pistol grip or telescoping stock.

Some pro-gun activists, like Paul Valone of Grass Roots North Carolina, dismiss the category of assault weapons entirely.

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

A Rock River Arms AR-15 rifle.

“It’s relatively easy to circumvent a firearms ban based on cosmetic features. A pistol grip does not change the function of the firearm,” Valone said. “None of these things make any difference whatsoever.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law on Tuesday that tightened the state’s existing ban on assault weapons by applying the one-feature test.

The last federal ban on assault weapons lapsed in 2004. It was criticized by gun control proponents for allowing gun makers to easily circumvent restrictions may making small changes to existing models of rifles. That law required guns to have two military-style features to be considered assault weapons.

Ross Meyer, a manager at Gun World and Archery, a Nevada gun store, said some of his customers buy AR-style weapons for defense – but many also simply enjoy shooting the guns.

Gun-rights groups: Our 'backs are against the wall'

“A lot of them, it’s just kind of fun to go out and shoot,” said Meyer. His store sold out of the 150 AR-style weapons it had in stock within three days of the shooting in Newtown. “And then also the high-capacity magazine, that’s fun to have.”

“Semi-autos are just one of the most fun to go out and shoot when it comes to the recreation of it,” Meyer said.

Activists contend that there’s no political gain for them in sitting down at the table to discuss restrictions on assault weapons.

“As a strategic measure, it would be a horrific mistake for Republicans to play this game again,” said Michael Hammond, legislative consultant for Gun Owners of America, a national pro-gun rights group that claims 300,000 members.

Longtime conservative activist Larry Hunter is a co-organizer of Gun Appreciation Day. The day, which Hunter said is intended to promote Second Amendment rights, is scheduled for January 19. Hunter sees any ban on assault weapons as an encroachment on American’s constitutional rights.

“I hope it’s a non-starter,” Hunter said of any new ban on assault weapons. “But I think the world has changed so dramatically since it was first enacted and then allowed to expire, we have to take very seriously the possibility that they will do something.”

Mike Groll / AP

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo delivers his third State of the State address at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed “the toughest assault weapons ban in the nation” in his State of the State address Wednesday afternoon – a response to the mass shootings in Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn., and the shooting deaths of firefighters in upstate New York.

“We must stop the madness,” Cuomo said.

“This is not about taking away peoples’ guns,” said Cuomo, adding that he’s gone hunting and owns a shotgun. “It is about ending the unnecessary risk of high-capacity assault rifles.”

Cuomo previously described New York’s assault weapons regulations as having “more holes than Swiss cheese.”

The governor proposed a seven-point plan that includes the elimination of all high-capacity magazines, regardless of the date of manufacture. New York law currently prohibits magazines that hold more than ten rounds, but excludes magazines made prior to 1994.

Cuomo also proposed background checks for all gun sales between private parties, as well as stricter penalties for the illegal purchase of weapons and measures to ensure that guns stay out of the hands of mentally ill individuals.

Even before the governor spoke, the topic stirred debate in New York, which is one of seven states that currently restrict the purchase and possession of assault weapons. The others are California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Maryland according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which supports gun control measures. 

“New York’s assault weapons ban is, as he noted, riddled with loopholes, and it’s important to approach that with a fresh eye,” said Benjamin Van Houten, a managing attorney at the Law Center. “Currently California has the strongest state assault weapons ban, but I’m really encouraged by what the governor was saying today.” 

After Cuomo told a radio interviewer in December that “confiscation could be an option,” gun rights activists posted a petition to the White House’s web site calling any legislation restricting the sale and ownership of semi-automatic firearms “a clear violation of our rights as a free people.” The petition had 7,973 signatures as of late Wednesday morning.

Cuomo's aides have reportedly said the confiscation idea won't work, and he hasn't mentioned it since the radio interview.

Cuomo’s speech comes as lawmakers in other states and at the federal level direct more attention to the issue of gun control.

In Washington, Vice President Biden held the first in a series of gatherings at the White House aimed at trying to create a consensus on what to do about gun violence. 

“The president is going to act,” Biden said while meeting with gun control proponents at the White House. “There are executive orders, executive action that can be taken.”

In Colorado, which is still reeling from the movie theater shooting that left 12 dead, Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, has urged legislators to take up the issue of gun control. The Associated Press reported that gun rights advocates planned a rally outside the state Capitol Wednesday, a day ahead of Hickenlooper’s own State of the State address.

An FBI review of all 2011 homicides for which data was available found that 67.8 percent of them involved firearms – 72.5 percent of which were handguns.

On Monday, more than one hundred New York state legislators called for new laws that would cut down on gun violence. Their proposed package calls for universal background checks on all gun sales, a more stringent ban on assault weapons, and a ban on the sale and possession of magazines that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition.

Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos announced his own gun proposal on Saturday, suggesting mandatory sentences for possession of an illegal weapon and increased penalties for carrying a firearm in certain areas, like on school grounds.

“No new package of gun safety laws can be truly effective without including provisions that go after illegal guns and punish the people who use them against others,” Skelos said in a press release.

A spokesman for the governor knocked down Skelos’ proposal because it did not call for an outright ban on assault weapons.

“Any gun policy that doesn’t ban assault weapons ignores the reality of gun violence and insults the common sense of New Yorkers,” spokesman Josh Vlasto said.

Cuomo's efforts may be aided by the fact he is riding a wave of popularity. A Siena College poll conducted in November found that Cuomo is viewed favorably by 72 percent of New Yorkers.