Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright (D- Manhattan) announced that she cosponsored and helped to pass legislation to prevent and reduce gun violence in New York.   

"As a Member of New York Legislators for Gun Violence Prevention, I am hopeful for a new day in New York State with strengthened protections keeping guns out of the wrong hands.  We are being proactive, and setting the tone for the nation in promoting measures for the safety of all New Yorkers,” said Seawright. 

On an historic day of action and push for passage of legislation to prevent gun violence and unintended consequences of gun ownership, the Assembly passed the following legislation to prevent gun related injuries and death:    

• Last year, the Assembly helped make the Domestic Violence Escalation Prevention Act law, prohibiting an individual who has been convicted of a domestic violence crime from purchasing or possessing a firearm (Ch. 60 of 2018). With new Senate leadership, the measures passed today will become law. 

• The Assembly once again passed legislation allowing a court to issue an order, known as an extreme risk protection order (ERPO), prohibiting a person who is determined to be a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing a firearm for up to one year (A.2689). 

• To further help keep our kids safe in school, the legislative package includes a measure prohibiting a school administrator from arming teachers or other school employees in K-12 schools in New York State (A.1715-A).   

• The Assembly also passed legislation prohibiting the possession, manufacture, transport, shipment and sale of devices that accelerate the firing rate of firearms so they operate in a similar manner as machine guns, including bump stocks, trigger cranks and other rapid-fire modification devices (A.2684). 

• Further, legislation was passed to establish a waiting period of up to 30 days – instead of the current three days – before a gun can be sold to an individual who has not cleared a background check (A.2690). 

• Require out-of-state citizens who also have homes in New York to waive the confidentiality of their home state mental health records when applying for a New York State firearm license (A.1213); and 

• Create the “Municipal Gun Buyback Program,” which would be administered by the State Police and allow individuals to turn in firearms. Those participating would be immune from certain criminal possession charges and would be able to collect a monetary reward (A.2685). 

“Again and again, senseless gun violence takes innocent lives, leaving agony, heartbreak and indescribable grief in its wake,” said Seawright. “But as the brave survivors of national shooting tragedies have made clear, there can be no excuse for inaction.”