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(Albany, NY) — Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance S7133A, a commonsense gun violence prevention bill sponsored by Senators Brian Kavanagh and Brad Hoylman that would create “Extreme Risk Protection Orders” (ERPO), and referred the bill to the Codes Committee.
After repeated refusals by Senate Republicans to consider this and other gun violence prevention measures on the Floor, the committee held a vote on the ERPO bill in response to Senator Kavanagh’s “motion for committee consideration,” as required by the Senate rules. An unofficial, preliminary tally of the vote shows that of the 12 Republican members of the Judiciary Committee, three voted against moving the bill, one was absent, and the remainder voted to advance the bill. All 11 Democratic members of the committee voted to advance the bill, making the total vote 19-3 in favor.
Senator Kavanagh released the following statement:
“Today we took a big step forward in the fight to strengthen New York’s gun laws and save lives across our state.
“As tragedies like the shootings in Santa Fe, Texas and Parkland, Florida remind us, no community is immune to gun violence — and that includes New York. Every year, more than 900 of our fellow New Yorkers are killed by guns, and many more are injured. If we want to save lives, we need to enact stronger gun laws.
“After months of Republican inaction on the issue of ERPOs, today’s vote of the Judiciary Committee was the first time Republican Senators have taken a public position on this bill — and the majority of Republican members made the right choice.
“But our work is not finished. If we are serious about savings lives, we need the bill to advance from the Codes Committee to a vote of the full Senate.
“Today, I am calling on the Codes Committee — and the Senate Republican leadership — to bring this bill to the floor promptly for a vote. If they do, I am confident it will pass on the merits.
“Across the state, New Yorkers want to see us take concrete, practical steps to prevent gun violence. This bill gives family and household members, police officers, and district attorneys the power to act before tragedy strikes. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the legislature, with Governor Cuomo, and with the extraordinary coalition of New Yorkers who have come together to say ‘enough’ to gun violence. And we will not rest until we have enacted extreme risk protection orders this session.”
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