Assemblymember Steve Stern (D-Huntington, 10th AD) announced that legislation he co-sponsored to prevent and reduce gun violence in New York was passed today by the New York State Assembly. The package helps keep guns out of the wrong hands, bans bump stocks and strictly limits guns on school grounds.

“This is the moral issue of our time,” Assemblyman Stern said. “For far too long, we have faced tragedy after tragedy, in schools, houses of worship, our workplaces, and places of recreation. We are entitled to be safe in our daily lives. No parent should pick their child up from the morgue instead of from the school bus stop. Today we say enough is more than enough. Today, we take meaningful action to protect the lives of New Yorkers from gun violence.”

Stern supported legislation establishing an “extreme risk protection order” to prohibit individuals who pose a major threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing firearms. Also known as “Red Flag” legislation, this vital public safety measure will enable family members, school officials, or law-enforcement officers to seek court intervention when individuals demonstrate dangerous or violent behavior that poses a risk. This determination is made following a hearing to protect the person’s due process rights, but allows immediate intervention to protect public safety.

“In the aftermath of the Parkland tragedy and so many other mass shootings by those who exhibited clear warning signs, we must act decisively and we must act immediately,” Assemblyman Stern said. “This initiative will help keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them and will save lives.”

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. Attaching a ‘bump-stock” device to a firearm is illegal, but there is no restriction on the sale or possession of bump stocks or other similar devices that are not attached to a firearm. A bump stock was used by the Las Vegas gunman who killed 58 people and injured hundreds in 2017.

To help keep our kids safe in school, the legislative package authorizes schools to allow school resource officers, police officers, peace officers and security guards to carry guns on school grounds, but would prohibit school administrators from authorizing teachers to be armed. “Local school districts should be empowered to decide whether armed security guards are appropriate for their communities,” Assemblyman Stern said. “But, teachers should be free to teach, not charged with acting as law enforcement officers.”

Additionally, the legislative package creates 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.

“Thoughts and prayers are not enough,” Assemblyman Stern said. “Today we have taken real action to keep New Yorkers safe.”