New York senator proposes terrorist 'registry'

A New York state senator has proposed a bill that would force "convicted" terrorists to register in a state database, similar to the existing registry for sex offenders.

The “New York State terrorist registry act” was proposed last week by state Sen. Tom Croci, a Republican.

The bill says those “convicted of a state or federal crime of terrorism, or who have committed a ‘Verifiable Act of Terrorism’” must register with the state and be placed in the database. They would have to give their name, date of birth, sex, race, nation of origin, Social Security number, photo, and other information.

National security and law enforcement agencies already operate terror databases at the federal level. Some fellow politicians reportedly are questioning how the proposed New York state system would be any different than its federal counterparts.

Croci argues that it's another way to track terrorists.

“It will discourage terrorists worldwide from entering New York, require those already in New York to register and be monitored,” Croci told the New York Daily News.

Failure to apply to the database would be considered a Class A felony in the state of New York.