NEWS FLASH! Posted Saturday, April 5, 2025 10:01 am:
On Thursday, April 3, 2025, Governor Hochul added more bills to that list of legislation. Hochul has signed three gun-control bills into law in what she says will strengthen New York’s gun violence protections.
The governor made the announcement yesterday, April 3, during a press conference in which she was flanked by legislative majority leaders.
Hochul said along with the new laws she plans to budget $370 million to combat gun violence across the state. She cited a “53% decline in gun violence year-to-date, when compared to pandemic-era highs” as evidence that laws passed under her administration have effectively combatted “a gun violence epidemic.”
“We’re taking action to drive down gun violence in the State of New York — protecting our communities and making our streets safer,” Governor Hochul said. “Public safety is my number one priority, and by giving law enforcement additional tools to stop gun violence in its tracks, we’re building on our promise to put the safety of New Yorkers first.”
The first bill signed into law, S.744/A.436, READ HERE, ensures there are penalties for using “pistol converters,” which are described as “rapid-fire modification devices that can be easily attached to semi-automatic pistols to make them even deadlier by allowing rapid fire with one pull of the trigger.” Also known as a “Glock switch,” the devices have already been illegal under federal law for several years, with penalties up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fines possible for possessing such a device.
For those who purchase firearms and ammunition with a credit card, S.745/A.439, READ HERE, will now make it easier for law enforcement to better track such purchases with a new merchant code category for firearms and ammunition retailers. Hochul said the new codes will now allow law enforcement to better identify those who may be “stockpiling firearms and ammunition” with “critical tools” to assist financial institutions in identifying “possible threats to public safety.”
In addition, Hochul signed S.743/A.437, READ HERE, into law, legislation that strengthens existing laws that say gun dealers and gunsmiths must post and distribute safety information at the time of sale of a firearm. Hochul said the warnings, much like a Surgeon General style warning, will serve as a deterrent to a “public health and safety crisis” in the state.
The information must detail the dangers of firearms and must now include information about the availability of resources through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, also known as 988.
The legislation is aimed at reducing death by firearm by raising awareness about the “increased risk of suicide, death during domestic disputes and unintentional death of children, household members and others.”
Along with the legislation, Hochul announced her intentions to invest $370 million to “reduce and prevent gun violence and strengthen communities disproportionately impacted by crime.”
Through the Law Enforcement Technology grant program, $50 million will be awarded to police departments and sheriffs’ offices to purchase new equipment and technology to modernize their operations and more effectively solve and prevent crime.
An additional $36 million will be distributed to GIVE, which funds the 28 police departments and district attorneys’ offices, probation departments and sheriffs’ offices in 21 counties outside of New York City.
The SNUG Street Outreach Program will receive $21 million, which operates in 14 communities across the state: Albany, the Bronx, Buffalo, Hempstead, Mount Vernon, Newburgh, Niagara Falls, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Syracuse, Troy, Utica, Wyandanch and Yonkers.
The program uses a public health approach to address gun violence by identifying the source, interrupting transmission, and treating individuals, families and communities affected by the violence.
An additional $18 million will be distributed to continue support the state’s “unique, nationally recognized Crime Analysis Center Network, and $13 million in new funding to establish the New York State Crime Analysis and Joint Special Operations Command Headquarters, a strategic information, technical assistance and training hub for 11 Centers in the State’s network and enhance existing partnerships and expand information sharing with the New York State Intelligence Center operated by the State Police, the locally run Nassau County Lead Development Center and the State’s Joint Security Operations Center, which focuses on protecting the State from cyber threats.”
The final $20 million will be utilized by Project RISE, which provides funding to 10 communities to support mentoring, mental health services, restorative practices, trust building, employment and education support and youth development activities, among other programs and services that address trauma resulting from long-term exposure to violence, build resilience and strengthen youth, families and neighborhoods.
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