Today, Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell was proud to vote in favor of New York’s crucial gun safety legislation, the SAFE Act. Soon after the vote, he said,

We as a community are still reeling from our overwhelming losses in Webster, NY and Newtown, CT. Even one injury or death from gun-related violence is too many, and last year our country felt the shock and grief these events bring all too frequently. Passing today’s legislation was the least my colleagues and I could do to honor the memory of those lost in 2012, and I am proud that we came together to do so.

I want to thank Governor Cuomo for including in the SAFE Act elements of a bill of mine I have long championed. This section of the bill will require that gun licenses be revoked and/or suspended from individuals subject to an order of protection. With this new safeguard and many other common-sense changes to gun safety laws, our government has proven the strength of its commitment to the security and well-being of all its citizens.

O’Donnell has been a strong advocate in the fight against gun violence. His first bill ever to pass the Assembly would have required judges issuing an order of protection to inquire as to the possession of a firearm by the defendant. The Assembly passed that bill every year since 2003, but the Senate never took it up. Now that the Senate and Assembly have passed the SAFE Act, vulnerable New Yorkers will now be much better protected from gun violence.