Albany, NY – In response to a series of tragic domestic violence incidents, New York State Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Amy Paulin have announced plans to reintroduce legislation that would require police officers to temporarily seize firearms when responding to reports of family or domestic violence. This update would expand on the Safe Homes Act of 2020, which currently allows—but does not mandate—officers to remove firearms found in plain sight or discovered during lawful searches at domestic violence scenes.
“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 stated. “This common-sense legislation is meant to protect residents at risk of further violence, and will save lives while safety plans can be put in place for the abused partner and children. And if illegal firearms are discovered during such required removals, that will only help keep our communities safer in the long run.”
Assemblymember Paulin underscored the urgency of the bill, noting, “Domestic violence and gun violence are deeply connected, as was tragically evidenced by the shooting this past weekend in Westchester County. This legislation, which I sponsored with State Senator Harckham, is a common-sense step to protect victims of domestic violence from the same fate.”
Originally introduced in January 2023, Harckham and Paulin’s bill (S.2012 / A.2413) faced delays while awaiting the outcome of a Supreme Court case, United States v. Rahimi, which questioned a federal law barring firearm possession by individuals under domestic violence restraining orders. The Court’s June 2024 ruling upheld the federal law, reducing the likelihood of constitutional challenges to similar state measures. With this clarity, the legislators are pressing for their bill’s passage in the next session.
Under the proposed law, officers would be required to seize firearms found in plain view when responding to domestic violence incidents, including weapons licensed to the accused. To ensure due process, the bill stipulates that seized firearms and any associated carry licenses would be returned within 120 hours (five days) if no charges are filed or if no further court orders prevent their return. This measure aims to prevent firearms from returning to potentially dangerous hands before the legal process has determined an appropriate course of action.
The decision to reintroduce this legislation comes on the heels of three recent fatal domestic violence incidents across New York. In Yorktown, a woman was fatally shot on Nov. 9; a child was killed and two people were critically injured in a separate Somers incident on Oct. 30; and on Oct. 16, a retired police officer in Yonkers shot and killed his wife, an elementary school teacher, before taking his own life.
If passed, the bill would mandate immediate action from law enforcement to protect vulnerable individuals and prevent further escalation in domestic violence cases involving firearms.