N.Y. MIL Law § 240 — New York Code / Act MIL / Article 11 / Section 240
Military parades and organizations by unauthorized bodies prohibited
Status: in_force

§ 240. Military parades and organizations by unauthorized bodies\nprohibited. 1. No body of men other than the organized militia and the\narmed forces of the United States except such independent military\norganizations as were on the twenty-third day of April, eighteen\neighty-three and now are in existence and such other organizations as\nmay be formed under the provisions of this chapter, shall associate\nthemselves together as a military company or other unit or parade in\npublic with firearms in any city or town of this state.\n  2. No municipal corporation shall raise or appropriate any money\ntoward arming or equipping, uniforming or in any other way supporting,\nsustaining or providing drill rooms or armories for any such body of\nmen.\n  3. No body of men shall be granted a certificate of incorporation\nunder any corporate name which shall mislead, or tend to mislead, any\nperson into believing that such corporation is connected with or\nattached to the organized militia or any unit thereof in any capacity or\nway whatsoever. In case any such certificate has been heretofore or may\nhereafter be granted, which in the judgment of the adjutant general,\nmisleads or tends to mislead anyone into believing that such corporation\nis so connected or attached in any capacity or way whatsoever, the\nadjutant general shall notify such corporation, in writing, to forthwith\ndiscontinue the use of its said corporate name and forthwith take the\nnecessary steps to change its name pursuant to the statute in such case\nmade and provided, to some name not so calculated to mislead. In the\nevent such proceedings are not forthwith taken and completed within six\nmonths from the service of said notice, the attorney general shall bring\nan action to procure a judgment vacating or annulling the act of\nincorporation of such corporation, or any act renewing the corporation,\nor continuing its corporate existence or annulling the existence of such\ncorporation.\n  4. Associations wholly composed of soldiers honorably discharged from\nthe service of the United States, or members of the order of Sons of\nVeterans, may parade in public with firearms on Memorial day, or on May\nfirst, known as Dewey day, or upon the reception of any unit of the\norganized militia or of the armed forces of the United States returning\nfrom duty or from the active military service of the United States, and\nfor the purpose of escort duty at the burial of deceased members or\nformer members of the organized militia or the armed forces of the\nUnited States. Students in educational institutions where military\nscience is a prescribed part of the course of instruction, and cadet\norganizations composed of youths under eighteen years of age, under\nresponsible instructors, may, with the consent of the adjutant general,\ndrill and parade with firearms in public under the superintendence of\ntheir instructors.\n  5. Any person violating any provision of subdivisions one through four\nof this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.\n  6. (a) Any person who assembles or conspires to assemble with one or\nmore persons as a paramilitary organization and has knowledge of its\npurpose is guilty of a class C felony when he, with one or more other\nmembers of such organization, practices with a military weapon in order\nto further the purpose of such organization.\n  (b) As used in this subdivision: (i) "paramilitary organization" means\nan organization of two or more persons who engage or conspire to engage\nin military instruction or training in warfare or sabotage for the\npurpose of unlawfully causing physical injury to any person or\nunlawfully damaging the property of any person.\n  (ii) "Military weapon" means any device capable of discharging a\nprojectile by means of a gas generated from an explosive compound, or\nany explosive or incendiary bomb, grenade, rocket, missile, or similar\ndevice or launching device therefor; or any device that simulates any of\nthe foregoing.\n  7. This section shall not be construed to prevent any organization\nauthorized to do so by law from parading with firearms, nor to prevent\nparades by the organized militia of any other state.\n