New York busts illegal sale of more than 100 assault rifles

New York: Three men from New York state have been charged for selling more than 100 assault rifles in violation of some of America`s toughest gun control legislation, officials said Tuesday.

Jackson Guns and Ammo, at the time a federally licensed firearm dealer, allegedly sold the weapons in Henrietta, a suburb of the western city of Rochester.

The men charged are store owner Kordell Jackson, 40, and two employees, 30-year-old Ken Youngren and 28-year-old Joshua Perkins. Each face multiple charges including criminal sale of a firearm in the first degree, officials said.

In January 2013, the state of New York made it illegal to sell military-style rifles, passing what it considers some of the toughest gun safety laws in the country.

The law was introduced after 20 children and six staff were shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in neighboring Connecticut.

Years of attempts to tighten gun controls at a federal level have failed.

On Monday, the US Senate defeated four bills -- two proposed by Republicans and two by Democrats -- that would have tightened gun control legislation after 49 people were killed in an Orlando nightclub on June 12.

"The tragedies in Orlando, Newtown... and too many other communities across the country are clear signs that we need to get our national gun violence epidemic under control," said New York state attorney general Eric Schneiderman.

"Weapons of war have no place on the streets of America and, in New York, we`re doing something about it."