Domestic violence weapons bill signed into law

ALBANY N.Y.—Police officers will now be required to take temporary custody of firearms when responding to reports of family or domestic violence. Before the law was enacted, officers under the Safe Homes Act of 2020 only had the option of removing firearms that were in plain sight or discovered during a consensual or lawful search.

The legislation was announced by New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and State Sen. Pete Harckham and has been signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul, coming during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“No one should live in fear in their own home,” Paulin said in a Oct. 17 joint press release. “By ensuring that law enforcement temporarily removes firearms when responding to domestic violence calls, we’re giving survivors the time and safety they need to take their next steps. This new law will save lives and prevent tragedies.”

Both Paulin and Harckham called the legislation “common sense.”

“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,” Harckham said. “While I am heartened that this legislation has been signed into law, now it is up to law enforcement professionals statewide to help further protect residents who experience domestic violence.”

Harckham and Paulin’s legislation (S.1985A / A.544) was introduced initially in January 2023, but advancement of the legislation 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 bill was re-introduced in November 2024.

The new law simply requires that the law enforcement officers responding to a report of family or domestic violence seeks to provide further protection to victims by mandating the seizure of 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 suspicion of such family or domestic violence offense.

Additionally, the new law 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. The law 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 re-introduction of the legislation last year came just days after a Yorktown woman was shot to death during a domestic violence incident on Nov. 9, 2024. Ten days earlier, on Oct. 30, 2024, a child was killed and two people critically wounded during another domestic violence shooting in Somers. Also, a retired police officer shot and killed his wife, a fifth-grade teacher in the Eastchester public schools, on Oct. 16, 2024 in their Yonkers home before turning the gun on himself.