"The scourge of gun violence in our nation is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and we are not going to wait for the federal government to act on passing gun safety legislation," Governor Cuomo said. "New York already has the strongest gun safety laws in the nation, and we are taking additional steps to make our laws even stronger and keep our communities, and our schools, safe. Together, we will pass this common sense legislation and send a clear message to Washington that gun violence has no place in our state or nation."
"I traveled to schools across the state with Governor Cuomo this past summer to push for common sense gun safety measures like the Red Flag Bill," said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, during remarks at the high school attended by Scott Beigel, the Long Island native who was killed during the Parkland shooting, as part of announcement of initiatives of the 2019 Justice Agenda. "We are continuing to rally for legislation that will further combat gun violence and keep guns out of the hands of people who can harm themselves and others. While the federal government fails to protect its citizens, New York will continue to lead the way and enact policies that help stop senseless gun violence and save lives."
Red Flag Bill
No law currently exists in New York State that enables a court to issue an order to temporarily seize firearms from a person who is showing red flags, like violent behavior, or is believed to pose a severe threat of harm to himself, herself, or others unless that person has also been accused of a crime or family offense. In addition, no state in the nation currently empowers its teachers and school administrators to prevent school shootings by pursuing court intervention.
The law would provide all necessary procedural safeguards to ensure that no firearm is removed without due process while ensuring that tragedies, like the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, are not repeated. In this mass shooting, the shooter was reported by multiple sources to be disturbed and dangerous yet was allowed to purchase and possess deadly firearms. In fact, more than half of all perpetrators of mass shootings exhibit warning signs before the shooting, according to a recent analysis. In these cases, an extreme risk protection order could have prevented countless, needless deaths.
Governor Cuomo previously advanced the legislation to keep guns away from individuals who pose a danger with the launch of a statewide campaign to pass the Red Flag Gun Protection Bill last June. The campaign included a series of bus tours to schools across the state to stand in solidarity with students, teachers and school administrators who support the bill and other common sense gun reform.
Ban Bump Stocks
The 2017 Las Vegas shooting that killed 58 people demonstrated the deadly consequences of bump stocks, which can be attached to semi-automatic weapons to simulate machine gunfire. Bump stocks serve no legitimate purposes for hunters or sportsmen and only cause unpredictable and accelerated gun fire. There is no reason to allow for their continued sale in New York State.
Extending the Background Check Waiting Period
Governor Cuomo previously advanced legislation to establish a ten-day waiting period for individuals who are not immediately approved to purchase a firearm through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Current federal law requires gun dealers to conduct the NICS background check on a potential purchaser prior to selling a firearm, which immediately provides the dealer with one of three possible notifications: "proceed", "denied", or "delayed". In the case of a "delayed" response, the dealer must wait three days before the sale is eligible to go through, even though the FBI continues to investigate these individuals past the three-day timeframe. Oftentimes, by the time it has been determined that the potential purchaser was, in fact, ineligible, the individual has already been sold the firearm upon completion of the three-day waiting period. Extending the waiting period to ten days would allow sufficient time to complete the background check and builds on legislative efforts to ensure that only those eligible to purchase and own a firearm are able to do so.
"Saving lives from gun violence requires leaders like Governor Andrew Cuomo who have the courage to do what's right," said former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. "He's refused to give in to the gun lobby and continued to champion policies that have made New York a leader in addressing this public safety threat. That record continues today as he renews his efforts, with support from state lawmakers, to enact legislation that will better protect New York schools, streets, churches, and neighborhoods. We applaud Governor Cuomo for never backing down and will stand with him in fighting for this new legislation that will make New York communities safer."
