COMMON SENSE GUN LEGISLATION ON EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDERS ADVANCES AT THE URGING OF DEMOCRATS

Hoylman: We must bring ERPO to the floor for a vote before the end of session--the safety of New Yorkers depends on it.

ALBANY -- Today, State Senator Brad Hoylman (D/WF - Manhattan) joined Senator Brian Kavanagh, Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and gun violence prevention and mental health advocates to press the GOP-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee to vote in favor of Extreme Risk Protection Orders. Senator Brad Hoylman, alongside Senator Brian Kavanagh and Assemblymember Jo Ann Simon, is the co-prime sponsor of S7133A, a commonsense gun violence prevention bill that would save lives by creating “extreme risk protection orders” or ERPOs.
 

ERPO empowers families and law enforcement to prevent gun tragedies by temporarily reducing access to guns for individuals at an elevated risk of endangering themselves or others. Eight other states -- California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington -- have passed similar legislation with positive outcomes. In addition to the eight states where ERPO has been signed into law, 20 other states are currently considering similar legislation.

State Senator Brad Hoylman said: “Thanks to the tireless efforts of my Democratic colleagues and advocates from across the state, the Senate Judiciary committee has agreed to advance this vital, life-saving piece of legislation with only three no votes from Republicans. We can’t let ERPO fall through the cracks of the ‘Albany two-step’ where Republicans divert legislation from committee to committee to avoid casting a vote.  ERPO has proven effective in the eight states that have enacted these court orders in stopping dangerous people who have guns from using them to hurt themselves or others. I will continue to fight tooth and nail to ensure New Yorkers have the same safeguards against mass shootings -- 101 of which have occurred nationwide this year -- before the end of session.”

New York’s Extreme Risk Protection Order bill recently passed in the New York State Assembly with bipartisan support under the leadership of Assembly Sponsor Jo Ann Simon and has been endorsed by a coalition of gun violence prevention organizations, law enforcement officials, health care organizations, and mental health advocates. A coalition of statewide advocacy groups include: New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, Giffords, Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, New York Legislators for Gun Violence Prevention, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Prosecutors Against Gun Violence, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Mental Health Association of New York State, the Mental Health Association of New York City, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the New York State Nurses Association, and the Greater New York Hospital Association.

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