News 12: Advocates, lawmakers call on Gov. Hochul to sign 2 gun safety bills into law

Standing in front of White Plains City Hall, public safety advocates and lawmakers called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a pair of bills they say will further reduce gun violence across New York.

 

State Sen. Shelley Mayer is the sponsor of the bills that passed both houses of the state Legislature earlier this year.

"This is a tremendous threat, particularly to young people and to people who have challenges with mental illness that we just can't walk away from," she said.

 

The first bill would require New York's digital registry of orders of protection and warrants to include extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs).

ERPOs are used to prevent people from having a gun if they're considered a high risk of using them to hurt other people or themselves.

 

Mayer said this law would increase protection for not only the general community, but particularly for victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Every month, an average of 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner, according to Everytown Research & Policy, a nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against gun violence.

 

Mayer's second bill would require firearm licensing officers to provide additional information about safe storage laws, including child access prevention measures when issuing permits.

 

The law also includes the Division of Criminal Justice to conduct a public awareness campaign about New York's safe storage laws and provide educational materials about safe storage practices on their website.

 

Hochul last week announced a 29% drop in shootings in several communities across the state, including in Yonkers and on Long Island. There have been 351 shooting incidents with injury in New York between the start of this year and July 31, 2024, compared to 497 during this same time frame last year.

Yonkers specifically saw a 57% decrease in the number of shootings.

 

New York's budget for the 2025 fiscal year included $347 million to address gun violence, reduce crime and improve public safety.

 

The governor's office has not yet responded to News 12's request for comment on the calls to sign these two bills.