ALBANY, N.Y. -- “You have to make a small step to protect,” said Glynn Jones, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.

“You got 20,000 to 30,000 laws on the books now! Incrementalism is eroding our Constitution,” said gun owner Harry Feineis.

Inside the Legislative Office Building in Albany, debate continues over gun control.

“How much more do you want to go?” asked Feineis.

Only moments after, state legislators announced they want all new semi-automatic handguns to be sold with the ability to "microstamp" each bullet casing as it leaves the gun.

“It will greatly aid investigators by allowing them to trace bullet casings, with no need to recover the gun,” said Assemblywoman Michelle Shimel.

“The legislation ensures microstamping would be available for $12 or less,” said State Senator Eric Schneiderman.

Supporters say it's one more tool they could use to prosecute gun crimes, adding just a few bucks to newly purchased guns.

“The only person who shouldn't support this is someone who fires a gun at someone and doesn't want to get caught,” said Shimel.

But not everyone agrees.

“They seem to be glossing over the independent studies that have been done, like the one at University of California, Davis and the National Research Council,” said Jake McGuigan, National Shooting Sports Foundation Government Relations Director.

A firearms trade association government relations director tells us those studies point to macro-problems with microstamping, like how criminals can simply file the numbers off the firing pin in seconds.

“The studies say it's easily defeated, it's unreliable technology and the fact is the cost they're quoting, no more than $12, they don't understand the manufacturing process,” said McGuigan.

He believes the cost could be as high as hundreds of dollars per gun, harming New York's gun industry. Older guns used in crimes still wouldn't have the microstamp, so critics say criminals would use those or revolvers, which don't microstamp.

“No killer has a right to hide behind a blank shell casing,” said Shimel.

All of this is only the latest argument over the future of gun control in New York.

Now it's up to the New York State Senate to decide whether to pass the microstamp legislation or not. It should come up before the end of the session, but it's unclear whether they have enough votes to pass it as the debate continues.