Albany, NY – Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan) announced that her legislation (A6556/S5514) to include felony animal cruelty crimes on the list of evidence a court may consider when issuing an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) passed the Assembly unanimously. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Michelle Hinchey in the State Senate.

“A person with a history of abusing animals is likely to eventually turn that violence toward humans,” said Assemblymember Rosenthal. “By amending our red flag laws, we will enable judges to consider recent acts of violence against animals when assessing if a person is a threat to themselves or others and should have their access to firearms limited.”

In 2019, New York State enacted an ERPO law, allowing judges to temporarily prohibit a person from purchasing or possessing firearms if they are deemed a danger to themselves or others. The process, which may be initiated by family members, law enforcement officers, school administrators, mental health professionals and others, requires local Supreme Courts to review available evidence and determine whether a person’s access to guns should be temporarily prohibited. Under current law, the court may consider threats of violence against others, reckless use of weapons, recent firearm purchases and other factors.

Under this legislation, the court may also consider recent acts of aggravated cruelty to animals. In 2021, the FBI’s Law Enforcement Bulletin published an article describing the link between animal cruelty and human violence. The article highlighted research showing that animal cruelty is often “predictive or co-occurring crime with violence against humans” and encouraged a collaborative approach in law enforcement investigations to reduce the likelihood of further crimes.

“Red flag laws make our communities safer,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “However, for this tool to be most effective, judges must consider all available evidence of a person’s capacity for violence and previous acts of cruelty against innocent animals is an obvious indicator.”

This legislation must now pass the New York State Senate before heading to the Governor’s desk. Throughout her tenure, Rosenthal has passed a variety of animal protection laws, including prohibiting the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores, the first-in-the-nation ban on cat declawing, laws protecting research animals and more.