ALBANY (AP) -- Spurred by a gunman's deadly rampage in Binghamton, several New York lawmakers want to limit the duration of state handgun licenses and require renewals every five years.

Sen. Eric Schneiderman and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin say it's time to reform the "dangerous lifetime permit system." They pointed to the April 3 mass shooting by licensed handgun owner Jiverly Wong, who killed 13 people, wounded four, and then killed himself.

Current state laws don't require any review of a licensee's subsequent criminal convictions, mental health or behavior that might raise red flags, with four exceptions. New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties already require permit renewals every three to five years.

Wong's shooting rampage in New York's Southern Tier was done with handguns he legally owned since 1997. While the proposed measure would have required two later reviews of his status, no information reported by authorities so far would have disqualified him from a license renewal.

"License recertification is an important way to ensure that records are updated and that handguns do not fall into the wrong hands," Paulin said in the memo accompanying the legislation she introduced in January. A dozen Assembly members added their names to the bill, which recently cleared the Codes Committee. The full Assembly is expected to consider it next week.

Schneiderman, a New York City legislator and deputy leader of the Senate's new narrow Democratic majority, said there will be many co-sponsors for his companion bill, but it remains to be seen if there is enough Senate support to pass it. He said people can't believe that in a state that requires renewing cosmetology, driver and barber licenses that the same isn't true for handguns.

"There's no process for checking in every now and they that people who have handguns are as OK as when they got the license in the first place," Schneiderman said. It's also a way of keeping track of handguns, he said.

Schneiderman and Paulin plan to formally announce their push on Thursday from the steps of City Hall in New York City.

The National Rifle Association, warning that "anti-gun" legislation day in New York's Assembly is scheduled Wednesday, April 29, is telling members to contact legislators and urge them to oppose the measure. "If this proposal is approved, gun owners can expect that a process that is already unfair in most parts of the state will become more so," the NRA said.

In New York, handgun licensing requires fees, fingerprinting, a safety course, background checks, receipt for gun purchase, character references and approval by a judge or other designated official. The process can take six months.

Wong, an emigre from Vietnam, became a U.S. citizen in 1995 and applied for a pistol permit in Binghamton the next year. One of six reference letters to the sheriff, obtained by the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin under a Freedom of Information Law request, was signed by Henry Voong, saying he was the applicant's father and did not want him to have a pistol, though reasons were not cited. The permit was granted by Broome County Judge Patrick H. Mathews, now retired.

Ballistics reports showed Wong fired 87 times from a 9mm Beretta and 11 times from a .45-caliber handgun. Both guns were listed on the permit.

Police have speculated that Wong was angry over losing a job at a vacuum cleaner manufacturer and frustrated about his poor English-language skills. He opened fire on a class at the American Civic Association, which assists immigrants.

A rambling letter from the gunman mailed to Syracuse TV station News 10 Now the same day blamed Wong's troubles on the police and vowed to take at least two people "to return to the dust of earth."

The letter, dated March 18, more than two weeks before the shooting, was accompanied by photos of Wong smiling with two guns, a gun permit and his driver's license.

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