SENATOR HOYLMAN AND SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADER STEWART-COUSINS CALL FOR IMMEDIATE PASSAGE OF LEGISLATION TO KEEP FIREARMS OUT OF THE HANDS OF ABUSERS

NEW YORK, NY – State Senator Brad Hoylman (D, WF-Manhattan) released the following statement today calling on the New York State Senate to pass his Safe Homes Act and Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) legislation, the first of which would enable law enforcement to remove firearms found on premises of domestic violence incidents. Hoylman’s renewed call for passage of his bills follows Sunday’s tragic shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas in which a man with a history of domestic violence killed 26 churchgoers.

State Senator Brad Hoylman said: “With each new incident of violence, we’re told that now is not the time to act, that gun violence is inevitable, and the best we can do is offer thoughts and prayers. But in the case of Texas shooter Devin Kelley, a former Air Force member who was court-martialed for assaulting his wife and child, had there been a legal mechanism to take away his weapons, Sunday’s shooting may have been avoided. Thoughts and prayer are not enough, it’s time for my Senate colleagues to help end the cycle of gun violence by bringing these bills to a vote come January.”

Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, “Now is the time for action. It is simple, domestic abusers should not be allowed to keep guns in their homes. I applaud Senator Brad Hoylman for his leadership on this issue and call on the Senate Republican/IDC Coalition to bring these bills for a vote as soon as the Senate returns. This legislation would already be in law if the Senate were run by the Democratic majority the voters elected.”

Senator Hoylman and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic are the prime sponsors of the Safe Homes Act (S.67), which would authorize law enforcement to remove firearms found on the premises where there has been a report of domestic violence. Senator Hoylman is also the prime sponsor, along with Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, of legislation to create Extreme Risk Protection Orders (S.5447), which would authorize judges to issue temporary warrants and restraining orders to allow local law enforcement to seize an individual’s firearms when they demonstrate a significant risk of injury to themselves or others.