Albany, NY – New York State Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Amy Paulin announced today that they will be reintroducing their legislation that requires police officers to take temporary custody of firearms when responding to reports of family or domestic violence. Right now, police officers under the Safe Homes Act of 2020 merely have the option of removing firearms that are in plain sight or are discovered during a consensual or lawful search.

“Too many domestic violence incidents involve shootings that could be avoided if handguns and other firearms were temporarily removed from the possession of accused defendants pending court action,” said Harckham. “This common-sense legislation is meant to protect residents at risk of further violence and will save lives while safety plans can be put in place for the abused partner and children. And if illegal firearms are discovered during such required removals, that will only help keep our communities safer in the long run.”

“Domestic violence and gun violence are deeply connected, as was tragically evidenced by the shooting this past weekend in Westchester County. This legislation, which I sponsored with State Senator Harckham, is a common-sense step to protect victims of domestic violence from the same fate.”

Harckham and Paulin’s legislation (S.2012 / A.2413) was introduced initially in January 2023. Advancement of the legislation earlier this year was put on pause while the United States Supreme Court decided on a case (United States v. Rahimi) objecting to a federal law that bars anyone subject to a domestic violence restraining order from possessing a gun. Although the court ruled on June 21, 2024, that the federal law did not violate the Constitution’s Second Amendment, the New York State Legislature’s annual session had been adjourned already. The ruling, though, made it likely that the two lawmakers’ legislation would not be challenged in court.

The legislation simply requires that the law enforcement officers responding to a report of family or domestic violence his legislation seeks to provide further protections to victims by mandating police officers seize firearms in plain sight during a domestic violence call. This includes firearms that individuals may have a license to carry and which they are in possession of when arrested on the suspicion of such family or domestic violence offense.

Additionally, this bill calls for the return of such firearms and carry licenses within one hundred and twenty hours (or five days) after removal from individuals upon arrest during family or domestic violence incidents. effecting such seizures. Such legislation is necessary to ensure that firearms do not return to dangerous hands before the courts have had sufficient time to file any necessary charges to protect victims.

The announcement that this legislation will be reintroduced at the start of the next legislative session comes just days after a Yorktown woman was shot to death during a domestic violence incident on Saturday, Nov. 9. A child was killed and two people critically wounded during another domestic violence shooting in Somers on Oct. 30. Also, a retired police officer shot and killed his wife, a fifth-grade teacher in the Eastchester public schools, on Oct. 16 in their Yonkers home before turning the gun on himself.