Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF, REF - Sag Harbor) announced that he helped pass legislation to prevent and reduce gun violence in New York. The package helps keep guns out of the wrong hands, bans bump stocks and strictly limits guns on school grounds. The Assembly has continually passed commonsense measures to stop senseless gun violence and save lives. 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 this week will also become law.

“When will we reach our breaking point? When does one more life lost become one too many?” Assemblyman Thiele asked. “We’re living in a time in which places we should be able to find refuge and joy – schools, movie theaters, places of worship – are no longer safe. We can’t pretend gun violence is inevitable and there’s nothing that can be done. There are steps we can take. And we’re taking them.”

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). The petitioner, who could be a family member, school administrator or law enforcement officer, would be required to file a sworn application describing the circumstances and justification for the request. Following an initial hearing, the court may grant a temporary order if there is reasonable cause to believe the individual is likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to themselves or others. At a subsequent hearing, the court may issue a final order which would last for one year.

Many individuals who carry out gun violence exhibit red flag behaviors. Earlier this month, an attack on the upstate community Islamberg was thwarted when a high school student overheard a classmate in the lunchroom make an alarming remark.^[1] Too often, though, red flags end in tragedy, noted Assemblyman Thiele. Authorities were warned the Parkland shooter was amassing weapons with the intent to attack a school before he killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, last year.^[2] An extreme risk protection order would help ensure warning signs are taken seriously and real action is taken when someone poses a serious threat.

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). Under current law, guns are prohibited on school grounds unless authorized by a school administrator. Today’s bill would ban administrators from authorizing school employees to carry guns on school grounds with the exception of school resource officers, police officers, peace officers or security guards.

“Educators should be armed with knowledge and skills that they’ll impart on our children, not an incredibly dangerous firearm,” said Assemblyman Thiele.

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). Under current New York State law, attaching such a device to a firearm is illegal because once attached, the weapon is considered a machine gun. However, there is no restriction on the sale or possession of bump stocks or other similar devices that are not attached to a firearm.

Gun modifications such as this allowed a gunman to carry out the deadliest mass shooting in the nation’s history in Las Vegas in October 2017, firing more than 1,100 rounds in approximately 10 minutes and killing 58 people.^[3],[4] Assemblyman Thiele noted that there’s absolutely no reason why a civilian should have access to a military-style assault weapon that can inflict so much damage so quickly.

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). Under current federal law, gun dealers must conduct a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) before selling a firearm. The NICS system responds with one of three messages – “proceed,” “denied” or “delayed.” While the vast majority of background checks are immediately marked “proceed” or “denied,” transactions that receive a “delayed” response must be completed after three business days if no additional “denied” response is received. In these cases, the FBI continues to investigate whether the person is an eligible purchaser beyond the three-day period even though the person has likely already been sold the firearm.

This dangerous loophole allowed nearly 4,900 prohibited purchasers to access guns in 2017 alone.^[5] Dylann Roof, who killed nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, was able to legally purchase the gun he used because of this loophole.^[6] The FBI itself has even suggested that more time be given to investigate “delayed” responses, but no change has been made on the federal level,^[7] making it all the more imperative that New York take action now, noted Assemblyman Thiele.

Additionally, the legislative package includes measures to:

• 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).

“Thoughts and prayers are not enough,” Assemblyman Thiele said. “From mass shootings to gun violence on our streets, it’s not going to stop unless we keep guns away from those who have no business having them. Our kids’ futures depend on it.”

[1] npr.org/2019/01/22/687560197/attack-on-muslim-community-in-upstate-new-york-disrupted-police-say

[2] washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/29/mass-violence-in-the-u-s-usually-follows-warning-signs-from-attackers-report-finds/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7df2c4a76094

[3] newsweek.com/las-vegas-gunman-fired-1100-bullets-during-shooting-new-forensic-report-finds-723311

[4] latimes.com/nation/la-na-vegas-shooting-timeline-revised-20171009-story.html

[5] lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/background-checks/background-check-procedures

[6] labs.time.com/story/gun-loophole

[7] Ibid.