Add Art 63-A §§6340 - 6347, CPLR; amd §265.45, Pen L
 
Establishes extreme risk protection orders as a court-issued order of protection prohibiting a person from purchasing, possessing or attempting to purchase or possess a firearm, rifle or shotgun.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A2689
SPONSOR: Simon (MS)
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil practice law and rules and the penal law, in
relation to establishing extreme risk protection orders as court-issued
orders of protection prohibiting a person from purchasing, possessing or
attempting to purchase or possess a firearm, rifle or shotgun
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would prevent individuals determined by a court to be likely
to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to themselves or
others from purchasing, possessing, or attempting to purchase or possess
a firearm, rifle, or shotgun.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill would add a new Article 63-A to the Civil Prac-
tice Law and Rules (CPLR) creating a procedure for requesting and issu-
ing temporary and final extreme risk protection orders and surrendering
or removing firearms possessed by a person subject to such orders.
Section two of the bill would amend section 530.14 of the Criminal
Procedure Law (CPL) to provide that, before ordering the return of
firearms to a person who had been subject to removal of firearms due to
the issuance of an order of protection, a county licensing officer must
provide notice and an opportunity to be heard to the District Attorney,
the County Attorney, the protected party, and every licensing officer
responsible for the issuance of a firearms license to the person.
Section three of the bill would amend section 265.45 of the Penal Law to
include a person subject to an extreme risk possession order within the
list of persons residing with a firearm owner, which triggers the
requirement that the firearm owner's rifles, shotguns and firearms be
securely locked in an appropriate safe storage depository or rendered
incapable of being fired by use of a gun locking device appropriate to
that weapon.
Section four of the bill provides for an effective date one hundred and
eighty days following enactment.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York currently lacks a procedure permitting a court to issue an
order to temporarily seize firearms from a person who is believed to
pose a severe threat of harm to himself, herself, or others unless that
person has also been accused of a crime or family offense. Under the
current law, despite the fact that family members often contact law
enforcement when they fear that a loved one poses a threat of violence
to others or him or herself, a court can only issue a temporary order of
protection in connection with a criminal or family offense proceeding.
More protections are needed to prevent unnecessary gun violence by those
pose a threat of harm to themselves or others.
This bill would provide all of the necessary procedural safeguards to
ensure that no firearm is removed without due process while ensuring
that tragedies like the school shooting in Parkland, FL and the mass
killing at the Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee do not occur in New
York. In both of those cases, the shooter was reported by multiple
sources to be disturbed and dangerous yet was allowed to purchase and
possess deadly firearms. An extreme risk protection order would have
prevented countless, needless deaths.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2018: A8976B (Simon) - Passed Assembly
2017: A6994 (Kavanagh) - Passed Assembly
2016: A07038 (Kavanagh) - Codes
2015: A07038 (Kavanagh) - Codes
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None noted.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.