A New York state senator has proposed legislation that would outlaw the sale of machetes in the state and sentence those in possession of the large knives with up to a year in jail.

In light of recent attacks involving machetes in New York, State Sen. Tony Avella of Queens announced that he is planning to introduce a bill to ban the possession of the massive blades.

"The fact that anyone can easily purchase this potentially lethal tool is just crazy," said the Democrat, according to the New York Daily News.

Although current state laws bans smaller knives like switchblades and gravity knives, which are listed as deadly weapons, machetes, on the other hand, are categorized as butcher knives. As of now, anyone caught carrying a machete can receive a citation for possessing a knife with a blade longer than 4 inches. They could also face up to 15 days in jail and a $300 fine for violating an administrative code.

Under Avella's proposal, anyone caught in possession of a machete could end up behind bars for a year.

Avella's push comes in response to the death of a 17-year-old Long Island boy last summer who was attacked by a man with a machete. David Sadler, 45, was charged with slashing Terrance Grier in the neck with the blade during an argument near Sadler's home in Hempstead in July. Sadler told reporters he purchased the weapon via Craigslist.

"I didn't even know it was possible to buy a machete online," Greta Price, Terrance's mother, told the Daily News. "I had no idea that it wasn't considered a deadly weapon. It should be."

She added that her son would "still be alive today if it wasn't for a machete."

Another incident involving a machete also occurred in October when an unidentified man was slashed in the neck, back, shoulder and arms in a Bronx restaurant. A surveillance video shows that the suspect pulled the machete from an umbrella.

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